s  ?O.CKTON 


"  My  friend,  if  you  my  book  will  use, 
Do  not,  1  pray,  my  book  abuse ; 
And  when  its  pages  you  have  read. 
Then  prove  that  you  were  born  and  bred 
An  honest  man,  who  ne'er  will  hook 
His  neighbor's  ox,  or  ass,  or  book." 


EX-IIBRIS 

WILLIAM  FREDERIC  HOEHN 


LIBRA1 


VLIFOB 


DAVTS 


THE  DOCTOR'S  DAUGHTER 


BICTCLE 
OF  CAT  HAT 

21  Jftobel 

By  Frank  R.  Stockton 

Author  of  "  The  Great  Stone  of  Sardis" 
"The  Associate  Hermits"  etc. 

Illustrated  ty 

Orson  Lowell 


Harper   &    Brothers 

London  and  New  York 
1900 


LIBRA 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


Copyright,  1900,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rifhtt  reserved. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.  THE  DOCTOR'S  DAUGHTER i 

II.  A  BAD  TWIST 9 

III.  THE  DUKE'S  DRESSING-GOWN 21 

IV.  A  BIT  OF  ADVICE 46 

V.  THE  LADY  AND  THE  CAVALIER  ...        .    .  58 

VI.  THE  HOLLY  SPRIG  INN 66 

VII.  MRS.  CHESTER  is  TROUBLED 77 

VIII.  ORSO  .    .    .    .    .    .    ...    ,    .    .    .    .    .  95 

IX.  A  RUNAWAY 106 

X.  THE  LARRAMIE  FAMILY 119 

XI.  THE  THREE  MCKENNAS 133 

XII.  BACK  TO  THE  HOLLY  SPRIG 146 

XIII.  A  MAN  WITH  A  LETTER 157 

XIV.  Miss  EDITH  is  DISAPPOINTED 172 

XV.    MISS  WlLLOUGHBY 185 

XVI.  AN  ICICLE 195 

XVII.  A  FORECASTER  OF  HUMAN  PROBABILITIES  .    .  204 

XVIII.  REPENTANCE  AVAILS  NOT 221 

XIX.  BEAUTY,  PURITY,  AND  PEACE 226 

XX.  BACK  FROM  CATHAY 233 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  DOCTOR'S  DAUGHTER Frontispiece 

HALF-TITLE Pagt     vii 

"I   PUT  ON  MY   COAT" Facing  page      14 

"THE  RAIN  WAS  COMING  DOWN  HARD"    .    .  "  16 

"ON  MY  RIGHT  A  LIGHTED  DOORWAY"    .    .  "  22 

A  FEW  THOUGHTS "  26 

"THE  BEAUTY  OF  HER  TEETH" "  30 

"I  KICKED  OFF  MY  EMBROIDERED  SLIPPERS"  "  42 
"  IT  WOULD  BE  WELL  FOR  ME  TO  SWALLOW  A 

CAPSULE" "  44 

"AS  SOON  AS  I  HAD  SPOKEN  THESE  WORDS  "  "  50 

"I  DISMOUNTED  AND  APPROACHED  THE  WALL"  "  58 

"I  THOUGHT  FOR  A  FEW  MOMENTS"   ...  "  64 

"I  WENT  OUT  FOR  A  WALK" "  72 

MRS.   CHESTER "  74 

"SHE  BEGAN   TO  TALK  ABOUT   WALFORD "       .  "  78 

"  BUT   WE   WERE   NOT   ALONE " "  88 

"TO   MY   LEFT   I    SAW   A   LINE   OF   TREES "  .       .  "  IO8 

"HE  WAS  RUNNING  AWAY" "  IIO 

"HE    SOON   FELT   THAT   HE   WAS    UNDER    CON 
TROL"       "  Il6 

"  A  LITTLE   ARMY   HAD   THROWN   ITSELF  UPON 

ME" "  I2O 

V 


Illustrations 

"  '  WOULD    IT  BE   EASIER  TO    MANAGE    A    BOY 

OR  A  BEAR?'" Facing  page   122 

"I   TAPPED   MY  LEFT   PALM"    .      .      .      ,.     .     «  "              146 
"THERE    WAS    A    SUDDEN    FLUSH    UPON    HER 

FACE" .  "         150 

"  THE  SCENE  VIVIDLY  RECURRED  TO  MY  MIND"  "         154 

DECIPHERING  THE  DAGO'S  LETTER    ....  "         1 66 

"  '  I  DON'T  THINK  YOU  OUGHT  TO  TAKE  THIS 

LETTER'"      .......'.      /.•'  "             172 

"  '  DO  YOU  THINK  YOU  COULD  HIT  IT  WITH 

AN  APPLE?'" ,  J  l8o 

"TALKING  ABOUT  BABY  BEARS" "  l88 

"I  HELD  THAT   PICTURE  A   GOOD  WHILE"      .  "             IQ2 

"  'NO,  SIR,'  SHE  SAID"    .      .     '.      .      ....  200 

"  CUT  LIKE  THAT "      ....      ....      .      .  222 

EUROPA  ,  "  238 


A   BICYCLE   OF    CATHAY 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  DOCTOR'S  DAUGHTER 

!T  was  a  beautiful  summer  morn 
ing  when  slowly  I  wheeled  my 
way  along  the  principal  street  of 
the  village  of  Walford.  A  little 
valise  was  strapped  in  front  of 
my  bicycle ;  my  coat,  rolled  into  a  small  com 
pass,  was  securely  tied  under  the  seat,  and  I  was 
starting  out  to  spend  my  vacation. 

I  was  the  teacher  of  the  village  school,  which 
useful  institution  had  been  closed  for  the  season 
the  day  before,  much  to  the  gratification  of  ped 
agogue  and  scholars.  This  position  was  not  at 
all  the  summit  of  my  youthful  ambition.  In  fact, 
I  had  been  very  much  disappointed  when  I  found 
myself  obliged  to  accept  it,  but  when  I  left  col- 
A  I 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

lege  my  financial  condition  made  it  desirable  for 
me  to  do  something  to  support  myself  while  en 
gaged  in  some  of  the  studies  preparatory  to  a 
professional  career. 

I  have  never  considered  myself  a  sentimental 
person,  but  I  must  admit  that  I  did  not  feel  very 
happy  that  morning,  and  this  state  of  mind  was 
occasioned  entirely  by  the  feeling  that  there  was 
no  one  who  seemed  to  be  in  the  least  sorry  that 
I  was  going  away.  My  boys  were  so  delighted 
to  give  up  their  studies  that  they  were  entirely 
satisfied  to  give  up  their  teacher,  and  1  am  sure 
that  my  vacation  would  have  been  a  very  long 
one  if  they  had  had  the  ordering  of  it.  My  land 
lady  might  have  been  pleased  to  have  me  stay, 
but  if  I  had  agreed  to  pay  my  board  during  my 
absence  I  do  not  doubt  that  my  empty  room 
would  have  occasioned  her  no  pangs  of  regret. 
I  had  friends  in  the  village,  but  as  they  knew  it 
was  a  matter  of  course  that  I  should  go  away 
during  the  vacation,  they  seemed  to  be  perfectly 
reconciled  to  the  fact. 

As  I  passed  a  small  house  which  was  the  abode 
of  my  laundress,  my  mental  depression  was  in 
creased  by  the  action  of  her  oldest  son.  This 
little  fellow,  probably  five  years  of  age,  and  the 
condition  of  whose  countenance  indicated  that 

2 


The    Doctor's    Daughter 

his  mother's  art  was  seldom  exercised  upon  it, 
was  playing  on  the  sidewalk  with  his  sister, 
somewhat  younger  and  much  dirtier. 

As  I  passed  the  little  chap  he  looked  up  and  in 
a  sharp,  clear  voice,  he  cried :  "  Good-bye  !  Come 
back  soon  1"  These  words  cut  into  my  soul. 
Was  it  possible  that  this  little  ragamuffin  was 
the  only  one  in  that  village  who  was  sorry  to  see 
me  depart  and  who  desired  my  return  ?  And 
the  acuteness  of  this  cut  was  not  decreased  by 
the  remembrance  that  on  several  occasions  when 
he  had  accompanied  his  mother  to  my  lodging 
I  had  given  him  small  coins. 

I  was  beginning  to  move  more  rapidly  along 
the  little  path,  well  worn  by  many  rubber  tires, 
which  edged  the  broad  roadway,  when  I  perceived 
the  doctor's  daughter  standing  at  the  gate  of  her 
father's  front  yard.  As  I  knew  her  very  well, 
and  she  happened  to  be  standing  there  and  look 
ing  in  my  direction,  I  felt  that  it  would  be  the 
proper  thing  for  me  to  stop  and  speak  to  her,  and 
so  I  dismounted  and  proceeded  to  roll  my  bicycle 
up  to  the  gate. 

As  the  doctor's  daughter  stood  looking  over 
the  gate,  her  hands  clasped  the  tops  of  the  two 
central  pickets. 

"  Good-morning,"  said  she.  "  I  suppose,  from 
3 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

your  carrying  baggage,  that  you  are  starting  off 
for  your  vacation.  How  far  do  you  expect  to  go 
on  your  wheel,  and  do  you  travel  alone  ?" 

"  My  only  plan,"  I  answered, "  is  to  ride  over  the 
hills  and  far  away  1  How  far  I  really  do  not 
know ;  and  I  shall  be  alone  except  for  this  good 
companion."  And  as  1  said  this  I  patted  the 
handle-bar  of  my  bicycle. 

"  Your  wheel  does  seem  to  be  a  sort  of  a  com 
panion,"  she  said  ;  "  not  so  good  as  a  horse,  but 
better  than  nothing.  I  should  think,  travelling 
all  by  yourself  in  this  way,  you  would  have  quite 
a  friendly  feeling  for  it.  Did  you  ever  think  of 
giving  it  a  name  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  I.  "  I  have  named  it.  I  call  it 
a  '  Bicycle  of  Cathay/  " 

"  Is  there  any  sense  in  such  a  name  ?"  she 
asked.  "  It  is  like  part  of  a  quotation  from 
Tennyson,  isn't  it  ?  I  forget  the  first  of  it." 

"  You  are  right,"  I  said.  *  '  Better  fifty  years 
of  Europe  than  a  cycle  of  Cathay/  I  cannot  tell 
you  exactly  why,  but  that  seems  to  suggest  a 
good  name  for  a  bicycle." 

"  But  your  machine  has  two  wheels,"  said  she. 
*  Therefore  you  ought  to  say,  '  Better  one  hun 
dred  years  of  Europe  than  two  cycles  of  Cathay/  " 

*  I  bow  to  custom,"  said  I.  *  Every  one  speaks 
4 


The   Doctor's   Daughter 

of  a  bicycle  as  a  wheel,  and  I  shall  not  introduce 
the  plural  into  the  name  of  my  good  steed." 

"And  you  don't  know  where  your  Cathay  is  to 
be  T  she  asked. 

I  smiled  and  shook  my  head.  "  No,"  I  an 
swered,  "  but  I  hope  my  cycle  will  carry  me  safely 
through  it." 

The  doctor's  daughter  looked  past  me  across 
the  road.  "  I  wish  I  were  a  man,"  said  she,  "  and 
could  go  off  as  I  pleased,  as  you  do  !  It  must  be 
delightfully  independent." 

I  was  about  to  remark  that  too  much  inde 
pendence  is  not  altogether  delightful,  but  she 
suddenly  spoke  : 

"  You  carry  very  little  with  you  for  a  long  jour 
ney,"  and  as  she  said  this  she  grasped  the  pickets 
of  the  gate  more  tightly.  I  could  see  the  con 
traction  of  the  muscles  of  her  white  hands.  It 
seemed  as  if  she  were  restraining  something. 

"  Oh,  this  isn't  all  my  baggage,"  I  replied.  "  I 
sent  on  a  large  bag  to  Waterton.  I  suppose  I 
shall  be  there  in  a  couple  of  days,  and  then  I  shall 
forward  the  bag  to  some  other  place." 

"  I  do  not  suppose  you  have  packed  up  any 
medicine  among  your  other  things  ?"  she  asked. 
"  You  don't  look  as  if  you  very  often  needed 
medicine." 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

I  laughed  as  I  replied  that  in  the  course  of  my 
life  I  had  taken  but  little. 

"  But  if  your  cycle  starts  off  rolling  early  in  the 
morning/'  she  said,  "  or  keeps  on  late  in  the  eve 
ning,  you  ought  to  be  able  to  defend  yourself 
against  malaria.  I  do  not  know  what  sort  of  a 
country  Cathay  may  be,  but  I  should  not  be  a  bit 
surprised  if  you  found  it  full  of  mists  and  morning 
vapors.  Malaria  has  a  fancy  for  strong  people, 
you  know.  Just  wait  here  a  minute,  please,"  and 
with  that  she  turned  and  ran  into  the  house. 

1  had  liked  the  doctor's  daughter  ever  since  I 
had  begun  to  know  her,  although  at  first  I  had 
found  it  a  little  hard  to  become  acquainted  with 
her. 

She  was  the  treasurer  of  the  literary  society  of 
the  village,  and  I  was  its  secretary.  We  had  to 
work  together  sometimes,  and  I  found  her  a  very 
straightforward  girl  in  her  accounts  and  in  every 
other  way. 

In  about  a  minute  she  returned,  carrying  a 
little  pasteboard  box. 

"  Here  are  some  one-grain  quinine  capsules," 
she  said.  "  They  have  no  taste,  and  1  am  quite 
sure  that  if  you  get  into  a  low  country  it  would 
be  a  good  thing  for  you  to  take  at  least  one  of 
them  every  morning.  People  may  have  given 

6 


The   Doctor's    Daughter 

you  all  sorts  of  things  for  your  journey,  but  I  do 
not  believe  any  one  has  given  you  this."  And 
she  handed  me  the  box  over  the  top  of  the  gate. 

I  did  not  say  that  her  practical  little  present 
was  the  only  thing  that  anybody  had  given  me, 
but  I  thanked  her  very  heartily,  and  assured  her 
that  I  would  take  one  every  time  I  thought  I 
needed  it.  Then,  as  it  seemed  proper  to  do  so,  I 
straightened  up  my  bicycle  as  if  I  would  mount 
it.  Again  her  fingers  clutched  the  top  of  the  two 
palings. 

"  When  father  comes  home,"  she  said,  "  he 
will  be  sorry  to  find  that  he  had  not  a  chance 
to  bid  you  good-bye.  And,  by-the-way,"  she 
added,  quickly,  "  you  know  there  will  be  one  more 
meeting  of  the  society.  Did  you  write  out  any 
minutes  for  the  last  evening,  and  would  you  like 
me  to  read  them  for  you  ?" 

"  Upon  my  word  1"  I  exclaimed.  "  I  have  for 
gotten  all  about  it.  I  made  some  rough  notes, 
but  I  have  written  nothing." 

"  Well,  it  doesn't  matter  in  the  least,"  said  she, 
quickly.  "I  remember  everything  that  hap 
pened,  and  I  will  write  the  minutes  and  read  them 
for  you  ;  that  is,  if  you  want  me  to." 

I  assured  her  that  nothing  would  please  me  bet 
ter,  and  we  talked  a  little  about  the  minutes,  after 

7 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

which  I  thought  I  ought  not  to  keep  her  standing 
at  the  gate  any  longer.  So  I  took  leave  of  her, 
and  we  shook  hands  over  the  gate.  This  was 
the  first  time  1  had  ever  shaken  hands  with  the 
doctor's  daughter,  for  she  was  a  reserved  girl,  and 
hitherto  I  had  merely  bowed  to  her. 

As  I  sped  away  down  the  street  and  out  into  the 
open  country  my  heart  was  a  good  deal  lighter 
than  it  had  been  when  I  began  my  journey.  It 
was  certainly  pleasant  to  leave  that  village, 
which  had  been  my  home  for  the  greater  part  of  a 
year,  without  the  feeling  that  there  was  no  one 
in  it  who  cared  for  me,  even  to  the  extent  of  a 
little  box  of  quinine  capsules. 


CHAPTER  II 


A    BAD    TWIST 

was  about  the  middle  of  the  af 
ternoon  that  I  found  myself  bowl 
ing  along  a  smooth  highway, 
bordered  by  trees  and  stretching 
itself  almost  upon  a  level  far 
away  into  the  distance.  Had  I  been  a  scorcher, 
here  would  have  been  a  chance  to  do  a  little  rec 
ord-breaking,  for  I  was  a  powerful  and  practised 
wheelman.  But  I  had  no  desire  to  be  extrava 
gant  with  my  energies,  and  so  contented  my 
self  with  rolling  steadily  on  at  a  speed  moderate 
enough  to  allow  me  to  observe  the  country  I  was 
passing  through. 

There  were  not  many  people  on  the  road,  but  at 
some  distance  ahead  of  me  I  saw  a  woman  on  a 
wheel.  She  was  not  going  rapidly,  and  I  was 
gaining  on  her.  Suddenly,  with  no  reason  what 
ever  that  I  could  see,  her  machine  gave  a  twist, 
and,  although  she  put  out  her  foot  to  save  herself, 

9 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

she  fell  to  the  ground.  Instantly  I  pushed  for 
ward  to  assist  her,  but  before  I  could  reach  her  she 
was  on  her  feet.  She  made  a  step  towards  her 
bicycle,  which  lay  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and 
then  she  stopped  and  stood  still.  I  saw  that  she 
was  hurt,  but  I  could  not  help  a  sort  of  inward 
smile.  "  It  is  the  old  way  of  the  world,"  I  thought. 
"  Would  the  Fates  have  made  that  young  woman 
fall  from  her  bicycle  if  there  had  been  two  men 
coming  along  on  their  wheels  ?" 

As  I  jumped  from  my  machine  and  approached 
her  she  turned  her  head  and  looked  at  me.  She 
was  a  pale  girl,  and  her  face  was  troubled.  When 
I  asked  her  if  she  had  hurt  herself,  she  spoke  to 
me  without  the  slightest  embarrassment  or  hesita 
tion. 

"  I  twisted  my  foot  in  some  way,"  she  said, 
"  and  I  do  not  know  what  I  am  going  to  do.  It 
hurts  me  to  make  a  step,  and  I  am  sure  I  cannot 
work  my  wheel." 

"  Have  you  far  to  go  ?"  I  asked. 

"  I  live  about  two  miles  from  here,"  she  an 
swered.  "  I  do  not  think  I  have  sprained  my 
ankle,  but  it  hurts.  Perhaps,  however,  if  I  rest 
for  a  little  while  I  may  be  able  to  walk." 

*  I  would  not  try  to  do  that,"  said  I.  "  What 
ever  has  happened  to  your  foot  or  ankle,  you 
IQ 


A   Bad  Twist 

would  certainly  make  it  very  much  worse  b> 
walking  such  a  distance.  Perhaps  I  can  ride 
on  and  get  you  a  conveyance  ?" 

"  You  would  have  to  go  a  long  way  to  get  one/' 
she  answered.  "  We  do  not  keep  a  horse  and  I 
really—" 

"  Don't  trouble  yourself  in  the  least/'  I  said. 
*  I  can  take  you  to  your  home  without  any  diffi 
culty  whatever.  If  you  will  mount  your  machine 
I  can  push  you  along  very  easily." 

"  But  then  you  would  have  to  walk  your 
self/'  she  said,  quickly,  "  and  push  your  wheel 
too." 

Of  course  it  would  not  have  been  necessary  for 
me  to  walk,  for  I  could  have  ridden  my  bicycle 
and  have  pushed  her  along  on  her  own,  but  under 
the  circumstances  I  did  not  think  it  wise  to  risk 
this.  So  I  accepted  her  suggestion  of  walking 
as  if  nothing  else  could  be  done. 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  mind  walking  a  bit,"  said  I.  "I 
am  used  to  it,  and  as  I  have  been  riding  for  a  long 
time,  it  would  be  a  relief  to  me." 

She  stood  perfectly  still,  apparently  afraid  to 
move  lest  she  should  hurt  her  foot,  but  she  raised 
her  head  and  fixed  a  pair  of  very  large  blue  eyes 
upon  me.  "  It  is  too  kind  in  you  to  offer  to  do 
this  1  But  I  do  not  see  what  else  is  to  be  done. 
II 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

But  who  is  going  to  hold  up  my  wheel  while  you 
help  me  to  get  on  it  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  will  attend  to  all  that/'  said  I,  and  pick 
ing  up  her  bicycle,  I  brought  it  to  her.  She  made 
a  little  step  towards  it,  and  then  stopped. 

"  You  mustn't  do  that,"  said  I.  "I  will  put  you 
on."  And  holding  her  bicycle  upright  with  my 
left  hand,  I  put  my  right  arm  around  her  and 
lifted  her  to  the  seat.  She  was  such  a  childlike, 
sensible  young  person  that  I  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  ask  any  permission  for  this  action, 
nor  even  to  allude  to  its  necessity. 

"  Now  you  might  guide  yourself  with  the 
handle-bar,"  I  said.  "  Please  steer  over  to  that 
tree  where  I  have  left  my  machine."  I  easily 
pushed  her  over  to  the  tree,  and  when  I  had  laid 
hold  of  my  bicycle  with  my  left  hand,  we  slowly 
proceeded  along  the  smooth  road. 

"  I  think  you  would  better  take  your  feet  from 
the  pedals,"  said  I,  "  and  put  them  on  the  coasters 
— the  motion  must  hurt  you.  It  is  better  to  have 
your  injured  foot  raised,  anyway,  as  that  will 
keep  the  blood  from  running  down  into  it  and 
giving  you  more  pain." 

She  instantly  adopted  my  suggestion,  and 
presently  said,  "  That  is  a  great  deal  more  pleas 
ant,  and  I  am  sure  it  is  better  for  my  foot  to 

12 


A  Bad    Twist 

keep  it  still.  I  do  hope  I  haven't  sprained  my 
ankle  !  It  is  possible  to  give  a  foot  a  bad  twist 
without  spraining  it,  isn't  it  ?" 

I  assented,  and  as  I  did  so  I  thought  it  would 
not  be  difficult  to  give  a  bad  twist  to  any  part  of 
this  slenderly  framed  young  creature. 

*  How  did  you  happen  to  fall  ?"  I  asked — not 
that  I  needed  to  inquire,  for  my  own  knowledge  of 
wheelcraft  assured  me  that  she  had  tumbled 
simply  because  she  did  not  know  how  to  ride. 

"  I  haven't  the  slightest  idea,"  she  answered. 
*  The  first  thing  I  knew  I  was  going  over,  and  I 
wish  I  had  not  tried  to  save  myself.  It  would 
have  been  better  to  go  down  bodily." 

As  we  went  on  she  told  me  that  she  had  not  had 
much  practice,  as  it  had  been  but  a  few  weeks 
since  she  had  become  the  possessor  of  a  wheel, 
and  that  this  was  the  first  trip  she  had  ever  taken 
by  herself.  She  had  always  gone  in  company 
with  some  one,  but  to-day  she  had  thought  she 
was  able  to  take  care  of  herself,  like  other  girls. 
Finding  her  so  entirely  free  from  conventional 
embarrassment,  I  made  bold  to  give  her  a  little 
advice  on  the  subject  of  wheeling  in  general,  and 
she  seemed  entirely  willing  to  be  instructed.  In 
fact,  as  I  went  on  with  my  little  discourse  I  began 
to  think  that  I  would  much  rather  teach  girls  than 
13 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

boys.  At  first  sight  the  young  person  under  my 
charge  might  have  been  taken  for  a  school-girl, 
but  her  conversation  would  have  soon  removed 
that  illusion. 

We  had  not  proceeded  more  than  a  mile  when 
suddenly  I  felt  a  very  gentle  tap  on  the  end  of  my 
nose,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  young  lady 
turned  her  head  towards  me  and  exclaimed  :  "  It's 
going  to  rain  !  I  felt  a  drop  !" 

"  I  will  walk  faster/'  I  said,  "  and  no  doubt  I 
will  get  you  to  your  house  before  the  shower  is 
upon  us.  At  any  rate,  I  hope  you  won't  be  much 
wet." 

"  Oh,  it  doesn't  matter  about  me  in  the  least," 
she  said.  "  I  shall  be  at  home  and  can  put  on  dry 
clothes,  but  you  will  be  soaked  through  and  have 
to  go  on.  You  haven't  any  coat  on !" 

If  I  had  known  there  was  any  probability  of 
rain  I  should  have  put  on  my  coat  before  I  started 
out  on  this  somewhat  unusual  method  of  travel 
ling,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it  now,  and  all  I 
could  do  was  to  hurry  on.  From  walking  fast  I 
began  to  trot.  The  drops  were  coming  down 
quite  frequently. 

"  Won't  that  tire  you  dreadfully  ?"  she  said. 

*  Not  at  all,"  I  replied.  "  I  could  run  like  this 
for  a  long  distance." 


; 


A  Bad  Twist 

She  looked  up  at  me  with  a  little  smile.  I  think 
she  must  have  forgotten  the  pain  in  her  foot. 

"It  must  be  nice  to  be  strong  like  that/'  she 
said. 

Now  the  rain  came  down  faster,  and  my  com 
panion  declared  that  I  ought  to  stop  and  put  on 
my  coat.  I  agreed  to  this,  and  when  I  came  to 
a  suitable  tree  by  the  road-side,  I  carefully  leaned 
her  against  it  and  detached  my  coat  from  my 
bicycle.  But  just  as  I  was  about  to  put  it  on  I 
glanced  at  the  young  girl.  She  had  on  a  thin 
shirt-waist,  and  I  could  see  that  the  shoulders  of  it 
were  already  wet.  I  advanced  towards  her,  hold 
ing  out  my  coat.  "  I  must  lay  this  over  you,"  I 
said.  "  I  am  afraid  now  that  I  shall  not  get  you 
to  your  home  before  it  begins  to  rain  hard." 

She  turned  to  me  so  suddenly  that  I  made 
ready  to  catch  her  if  her  unguarded  movement 
should  overturn  her  machine.  *  You  mustn't  do 
that  at  all  ! "  she  said.  "  It  doesn't  matter  whether 
I  am  wet  or  not.  I  do  not  have  to  travel  in  wet 
clothes,  and  you  do.  Please  put  on  your  coat 
and  let  us  hurry  !" 

I  obeyed  her,  and  away  we  went  again,  the  rain 

now  coming  down  hard  and  fast.     For  some 

minutes  she  did  not  say  anything  ;  but  I  did  not 

wonder  at  this,  for  circumstances  were  not  favor- 

15 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

able  to  conversation.  But  presently,  in  spite  of 
the  rain  and  our  haste,  she  spoke  : 

"  It  must  seem  dreadfully  ungrateful  and  hard 
hearted  in  me  to  say  to  you,  after  all  you  have 
done  for  me,  that  you  must  go  on  in  the  rain. 
Anybody  would  think  that  I  ought  to  ask  you  to 
come  into  our  house  and  wait  until  the  storm  is 
over.  But,  really,  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  do  it. " 

I  urged  her  not  for  a  moment  to  think  of  me.  I 
was  hardy,  and  did  not  mind  rain,  and  when  I 
was  mounted  upon  my  wheel  the  exercise  would 
keep  me  warm  enough  until  I  reached  a  place  of 
shelter. 

"  I  do  not  like  it,"  she  said.  *  It  is  cruel  and  in 
human,  and  nothing  you  can  say  will  make  it 
any  better.  But  the  fact  is  that  I  find  myself 
in  a  very —  Well,  I  do  not  know  what  to  say 
about  it.  You  are  the  school-teacher  at  Walford, 
are  you  not  ?" 

This  question  surprised  me,  and  I  assented 
quickly,  wondering  what  would  come  next. 

"  I  thought  so,"  she  said.  "  I  have  seen  you  on 
the  road  on  your  wheel,  and  some  one  told  me  who 
you  were.  And  now,  since  you  have  been  so  kind 
to  me,  I  am  going  to  tell  you  exactly  why  I  cannot 
ask  you  to  stop  at  our  house.  Everything  is  all 
wrong  there  to-day,  and  if  I  don't  explain  what 
16 


THE   RAIN   WAS    COMING    DOWN    HARD  " 


A   Bad    Twist 

has  happened,  you  might  think  that  things  are 
worse  than  they  really  are,  and  I  wouldn't  want 
anybody  to  think  that." 

I  listened  with  great  attention,  for  I  saw  that 
she  was  anxious  to  free  herself  of  the  imputation 
of  being  inhospitable,  and  although  the  heavy 
rain  and  my  rapid  pace  made  it  sometimes  diffi 
cult  to  catch  her  words,  I  lost  very  little  of  her 
story. 

*  You  see,"  said  she,  "  my  father  is  very  fond  of 
gardening,  and  he  takes  great  pride  in  his  vege 
tables,  especially  the  early  ones.     He  has  peas 
this  year  ahead  of  everybody  else  in  the  neighbor 
hood,  and  it  was  only  day  before  yesterday  that 
he  took  me  out  to  look  at  them.     He  has  been 
watching  them  ever  since  they  first  came  up  out 
of  the  ground,  and  when  he  showed  me  the  nice 
big  pods  and  told  me  they  would  be  ready  to  pick 
in  a  day  or  two,  he  looked  so  proud  and  happy 
that  you  might  have  thought  his  peas  were  little 
living  people.     I  truly  believe  that  even  at  prayer- 
time  he  could  not  help  thinking  how  good  those 
peas  would  taste. 

*  But  this  morning  when  he  came  in  from  the 
garden  and  told  mother  that  he  was  going  to  pick 
our  first  peas,  so  as  to  have  them  perfectly  fresh 
for  dinner,  she  said  that  he  would  better  not  pick 

B  17 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

them  to-day,  because  the  vegetable  man  had  been 
along  just  after  breakfast,  and  he  had  had  such 
nice  green  peas  that  she  had  bought  some,  and 
therefore  he  had  better  keep  his  peas  for  some 
other  day. 

"  Now,  I  don't  want  you  to  think  that  mother 
isn't  just  as  good  as  gold,  for  she  is.  But  she 
doesn't  take  such  interest  in  garden  things  as 
father  does,  and  to  her  all  peas  are  peas,  provided 
they  are  good  ones.  But  when  father  heard  what 
she  had  done  I  know  that  he  felt  exactly  as  if  he 
had  been  stabbed  in  one  of  his  tenderest  places. 
He  did  not  say  one  word,  and  he  walked  right  out 
of  the  house,  and  since  that  they  haven't  spoken 
to  each  other.  It  was  dreadful  to  sit  at  dinner, 
neither  of  them  saying  a  word  to  the  other,  and 
only  speaking  to  me.  It  was  all  so  different  from 
the  way  things  generally  are  that  1  can  scarcely 
bear  it. 

"And  I  went  out  this  afternoon  for  no  other 
reason  than  to  give  them  a  chance  to  make  it  up 
between  them.  I  thought  perhaps  they  would  do 
it  better  if  they  were  alone  with  each  other.  But 
of  course  I  do  not  know  what  has  happened,  and 
things  may  be  worse  than  they  were.  I  could 
not  take  a  stranger  into  the  house  at  such  a 
time  —  they  would  not  like  to  be  found  not 
18 


A   Bad    Twist 

speaking  to  each  other — and,  besides,  I  do  not 
know — " 

Here  I  interrupted  her,  and  begged  her  not  to 
give  another  thought  to  the  subject.  I  wanted 
very  much  to  go  on,  and  in  every  way  it  was  the 
best  thing  I  could  do. 

As  I  finished  speaking  she  pointed  out  a  pretty 
house  standing  back  from  the  road,  and  told  me 
that  was  where  she  lived.  In  a  very  few  minutes 
after  that  I  had  run  her  up  to  the  steps  of  her 
piazza  and  was  assisting  her  to  dismount  from  her 
wheel. 

"  It  is  awful  1"  she  said.  "  This  rain  is  coming 
down  like  a  cataract  1" 

"  You  must  hurry  in-doors,"  I  answered.  *  Let 
me  help  you  up  the  steps."  And  with  this  I  took 
hold  of  her  under  the  arms,  and  in  a  second  I  had 
set  her  down  in  front  of  the  closed  front  door.  I 
then  ran  down  and  brought  up  her  wheel.  "  Do 
you  think  you  can  manage  to  walk  in  ?"  said  I. 

"  Oh  yes  !"  she  said.  "  If  I  can't  do  anything 
else,  I  can  hop.  My  mother  will  soon  have  me  all 
right.  She  knows  all  about  such  things." 

She  looked  at  me  with  an  anxious  expression, 
and  then  said,  "  How  do  you  think  it  would  do  for 
you  to  wait  on  the  piazza  until  the  rain  is  over  ?" 

"  Good-bye,"  I  said, with  a  laugh,  and  bounding 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

down  to  the  front  gate,  where  I  had  left  my  bicycle, 
I  mounted  and  rode  away. 

The  rain  came  down  harder  and  harder.  The 
road  was  full  of  little  running  streams,  and  liquid 
mud  flew  from  under  my  whirling  wheels.  It 
was  not  late  in  the  afternoon,  but  it  was  actually 
getting  dark,  and  I  seemed  to  be  the  only  living 
creature  out  in  this  tremendous  storm.  I  looked 
from  side  to  side  for  some  place  into  which  I  could 
run  for  shelter,  but  here  the  road  ran  between 
broad  open  fields.  My  coat  had  ceased  to  protect 
me,  and  I  could  feel  the  water  upon  my  skin. 

But  in  spite  of  my  discomforts  and  violent  ex 
ertions  I  found  myself  under  the  influence  of  some 
very  pleasurable  emotions,  occasioned  by  the  inci 
dent  of  the  slender  girl.  Her  childlike  frank 
ness  was  charming  to  me.  There  was  not  an 
other  girl  in  a  thousand  who  would  have  told  me 
that  story  of  the  peas.  I  felt  glad  that  she  had 
known  who  I  was  when  she  was  talking  to  me, » 
and  that  her  simple  confidences  had  been  given  to 
me  personally,  and  not  to  an  entire  stranger  who 
had  happened  along.  1  wondered  if  she  resem 
bled  her  father  or  her  mother,  and  I  had  no  doubt 
that  to  possess  such  a  daughter  they  must  both  be 
excellent  people. 

20 


CHAPTER  III 


THE    DUKE'S    DRESSING-GOWN 

[HINKING  thus,!  almost  forgot  the 
storm,  but  coming  to  a  slight 
descent  where  the  road  was  very 
smooth  I  became  conscious  that 
my  wheel  was  inclined  to  slip, 
and  if  I  were  not  careful  I  might  come  to  grief. 
But  no  sooner  had  I  reached  the  bottom  of  the  de 
clivity  than  I  beheld  on  my  right  a  lighted 
doorway.  Without  the  slightest  hesitation  I 
turned  through  the  wide  gateway,  the  posts  of 
which  I  could  scarcely  see,  and  stopped  in  front 
of  a  small  house  by  the  side  of  a  driveway. 
Waiting  for  no  permission,  I  carried  my  bicycle 
into  a  little  covered  porch.  I  then  approached 
the  door,  for  I  was  now  seeking  not  only  shelter 
but  an  opportunity  to  dry  myself.  I  do  not  be 
lieve  a  sponge  could  have  been  more  thoroughly 
soaked  than  I  was. 

At  the  very  entrance  I  was  met  by  a  little  man  in 
short  jacket  and  top-boots. 
21 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  I  heard  your  step/'  said  he.  "  Been  caught 
in  the  rain,  eh  ?  Well,  this  is  a  storm  !  And 
now  what  're  we  going  to  do  ?  You  must  come 
in.  But  you're  in  a  pretty  mess,  1  must  say  I  Hi, 
Maria  1" 

At  these  words  a  large,  fresh-looking  woman 
came  into  the  little  hall. 

"  Maria,"  said  the  man,  "  here's  a  gentleman 
that's  pretty  nigh  drowned,  and  he's  dripping 
puddles  big  enough  to  swim  in." 

The  woman  smiled.  "  Really,  sir,"  said  she, 
*  you've  had  a  hard  time.  Wheeling,  1  suppose. 
It's  an  awful  time  to  be  out.  It's  so  dark  that  I 
lighted  a  lamp  to  make  things  look  a  little 
cheery.  But  you  must  come  in  until  the  rain  is 
over,  and  try  and  dry  yourself." 

"  But  how  about  the  hall,  Maria  ?"  said  the 
man.  *  There'll  be  a  dreadful  slop  1" 

"  Oh,  I'll  make  that  all  right,"  she  said.  She 
disappeared,  and  quickly  returned  with  a  couple 
of  rugs,  which  she  laid,  wrong  side  up,  on  the 
polished  floor  of  the  hallway.  "  Now  you  can 
step  on  those,  sir,  and  come  into  the  kitchen. 
There's  a  fire  there." 

I  thanked  her,  and  presently  found  myself  before 
a  large  stove,  on  which  it  was  evident,  from  the 
odors,  that  supper  was  preparing.  In  a  certain 

22 


The   Duke's   Dressing- Gown 

way  the  heat  was  grateful,  but  in  less  than  a  min 
ute  I  was  bound  to  admit  to  myself  that  I  felt  as  if 
I  were  enveloped  in  a  vast  warm  poultice.  The 
little  man  and  his  wife — if  wife  she  were,  for  she 
looked  big  enough  to  be  his  mother,  and  young 
enough  to  be  his  daughter — stood  talking  in  the 
hall,  and  I  could  hear  every  word  they  said.  ; 

"  It's  of  no  use  for  him  to  try  to  dry  himself," 
she  said,  "  for  he's  wet  to  the  bone.  He  must 
change  his  clothes,  and  hang  those  he's  got  on 
before  the  fire." 

"  Change  his  clothes  !"  exclaimed  the  man. 
"  How  ever  can  he  do  that  ?  I've  nothing  that'll 
fit  him,  and  of  course  he  has  brought  nothing 
along  with  him." 

*  Never  you  mind,"  said  she.  "  Something's 
got  to  be  got.  Take  him  into  the  little  chamber. 
And  don't  consider  the  floor ;  that  can  be  wiped 
up." 

She  came  into  the  kitchen  and  spoke  to  me. 
"  You  must  come  and  change  your  clothes,"  she 
said.  "  You'll  catch  your  death  of  cold,  else. 
You're  the  school-master  from  Walford,  I  think, 
sir  ?  Indeed,  I'm  sure  of  it,  for  I've  seen  you  on 
your  wheel." 

Smiling  at  the  idea  that  through  the  instru 
mentality  of  my  bicycle  I  had  been  making  my- 
23 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

self  known  to  the  people  of  the  surrounding  coun 
try,  I  followed  the  man  into  a  small  bed-chamber 
on  the  ground-floor. 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "  the  quicker  you  get  off  your 
wet  clothes  and  give  yourself  a  good  rub-down 
the  better  it  will  be  for  you.  And  I'll  go  and  see 
what  I  can  do  in  the  way  of  something  for  you  to 
put  on." 

I  asked  him  to  bring  me  the  bag  from  my  bi 
cycle,  and  after  doing  so  he  left  me. 

Very  soon  I  heard  talking  outside  of  my  door, 
and  as  both  my  entertainers  had  clear,  high 
voices,  I  could  hear  distinctly  what  they  said. 

"  Go  get  him  the  corduroys/'  said  she.  "  He's 
a  well-made  man,  but  he's  no  bigger  than  your 
father  was." 

"  The  corduroys  ?"  he  said,  somewhat  doubt 
fully,  I  thought. 

"  Yes,"  she  replied.  *  Go  get  them  !  I  should 
be  glad  to  have  them  put  to  some  use." 

"  But  what  for  a  coat  ?"  said  he.  *  There's 
nothing  in  the  house  that  he  could  get  on." 

"  That's  true,"  said  she.  "  But  he  must  have 
something.  You  can  get  him  the  Duke's  dress 
ing-gown." 

"What!"  exclaimed  the  man.  "You  don't 
mean — " 

24 


The   Duke's    Dressing- Gown 

"  Yes,  I  do  mean/'  said  she.  "  It's  big  enough 
for  anybody,  and  it  '11  keep  him  from  ketching 
cold.  Go  fetch  it  !" 

In  a  short  time  there  was  a  knock  at  my  door, 
and  the  little  man  handed  me  in  a  pair  of  yellow 
corduroy  trousers  and  a  large  and  gaudy  dress 
ing-gown.  "There!"  said  he.  "They'll  keep 
you  warm  until  your  own  clothes  dry." 

With  a  change  of  linen  from  my  bag,  which 
had  fortunately  kept  its  contents  dry,  the  yellow 
trousers,  and  a  wonderful  dressing-gown,  made 
of  some  blue  stuff  embroidered  with  gold  and 
lined  throughout  with  crimson  satin,  I  made  a 
truly  gorgeous  appearance.  But  it  struck  me 
that  it  would  be  rather  startling  to  a  beholder 
were  I  to  appear  barefooted  in  such  raiment,  for 
my  shoes  and  stockings  were  as  wet  as  the  rest 
of  my  clothes.  I  had  not  finished  dressing  be 
fore  the  little  man  knocked  again,  this  time  with 
some  gray  socks  and  a  pair  of  embroidered  slip 
pers. 

"These  '11  fit  you,  I  think,"  said  he,  "  for  I'll 
lay  you  ten  shillings  that  I'm  as  big  in  the  feet 
as  you  are." 

I  would  have  been  glad  to  gaze  at  myself  in  a 
full-length  mirror,  but  there  was  no  opportunity 
for  the  indulgence  of  such  vanity  ;  and  before 
25 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

leaving  the  room  I  sat  down  for  a  moment  to  give 
a  few  thoughts  to  the  situation.  My  mind  first 
reverted  to  the  soaked  condition  of  my  garments 
and  the  difficulty  of  getting  them  dry  enough 
for  me  to  put  them  on  and  continue  my  journey. 
Then  I  found  that  I  had  dropped  the  subject 
and  was  thinking  of  the  slender  girl,  wondering 
if  she  had  really  hurt  herself  very  much,  con 
gratulating  myself  that  I  had  been  fortunate 
enough  to  be  on  hand  to  help  her  in  her  need, 
and  considering  what  a  plight  she  would  have 
been  in  if  she  had  been  caught  in  that  terrible 
rain  and  utterly  unable  to  get  herself  to  shelter. 

Suddenly  I  stopped  short  in  my  thinking,  and 
going  to  my  bag  I  took  from  it  the  little  box  of 
quinine  capsules  which  had  been  given  to  me  by 
the  doctor's  daughter,  and  promptly  proceeded 
to  swallow  one  of  them. 

"  It  may  be  of  service  to  me,"  1  said  to  myself. 

When  I  made  my  appearance  in  the  hallway  I 
met  the  little  man,  who  immediately  burst  into  a 
roar  of  laughter. 

"  Lord,  sir  1"  said  he.  "  You  must  excuse  me, 
but  you  look  like  a  king  on  a  lark  !  Walk  into 
the  parlor,  sir,  and  sit  down  and  make  yourself 
comfortable.  She's  hurrying  up  supper  to  give 
you  something  warm  after  your  wettin*.  Would 
26  " 


A  FEW  THOUGHTS 


The   Duke's    Dressing- Gown 

you  like  a  little  nip  of  whiskey,  sir,  to  keep  the 
damp  out  ?" 

I  declined  the  whiskey,  and  seated  myself  in 
the  neatly-furnished  parlor.  It  was  wonderful,  I 
thought,  to  fall  into  such  a  hospitable  household, 
and  then  I  began  to  ask  myself  whether  or  not  it 
would  be  the  proper  thing  to  offer  to  pay  for  my 
entertainment.  I  thought  I  had  quite  properly 
divined  the  position  in  life  of  the  little  man.  This 
small  house,  so  handsomely  built  and  neatly 
kept,  must  be  a  lodge  upon  some  fine  country 
place,  and  the  man  was  probably  the  head  gar 
dener,  or  something  of  the  kind. 

It  was  not  long  before  my  hostess  came  into  the 
room,  but  she  did  not  laugh  at  my  appearance. 
She  was  a  handsome  woman,  erect  and  broad, 
with  a  free  and  powerful  step.  She  smiled  as  she 
spoke  to  me. 

"  You  may  think  that  that's  an  over-handsome 
gown  for  such  as  us  to  be  owning.  It  was  given 
to  my  man  by  the  Duke  of  Radford.  That  was 
before  we  were  married,  and  he  was  an  under- 
gardener  then.  The  Duchess  wouldn't  let  the 
Duke  wear  it,  because  it  was  so  gay,  and  there 
wasn't  none  of  the  servants  that  would  care  to 
take  it,  for  fear  they'd  be  laughed  at,  until  they 
offered  it  to  John.  And  John,  you  must  know, 
27 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

he'd  take  anything  !  But  I  came  in  to  tell  you 
supper's  ready  ;  and,  if  you  like,  I'll  bring  you 
something  in  here,  and  you  can  eat  it  on  that 
table,  or— " 

Here  I  interrupted  my  good  hostess,  and  de 
clared  that,  while  I  should  be  glad  to  have  some 
supper,  I  would  not  eat  any  unless  I  might  sit 
down  with  her  husband  and  herself  ;  and,  as  this 
proposition  seemed  to  please  her,  the  three  of  us 
were  soon  seated  around  a  very  tastefully  fur 
nished  table  in  a  dining-room  looking  out  upon  a 
pretty  lawn.  The  rain  had  now  almost  ceased, 
and  from  the  window  I  could  see  beautiful 
stretches  of  grass,  interspersed  with  ornamental 
trees  and  flower-beds. 

The  meal  was  plain  but  abundant,  with  an 
appetizing  smell  pervading  it  which  is  seldom 
noticed  in  connection  with  the  tables  of  the  rich. 
When  we  had  finished  supper  I  found  that  the 
skies  had  nearly  cleared  and  that  it  was  growing 
quite  light  again.  I  asked  permission  to  step 
out  upon  a  little  piazza  which  opened  from  the 
dining-room  and  smoke  a  pipe,  and  while  I  was 
sitting  there  enjoying  the  beauty  of  the  sunlight 
on  the  sparkling  grass  and  trees  I  again  heard 
the  little  man  and  his  wife  talking  to  each  other. 

"  It  can't  be  done,"  said  he,  speaking  very  pos- 
28 


The   Duke's    Dressing  -  Gown 

itively.  *  I've  orders  about  that,  and  there's  no 
getting  round  them." 

*  It's  got  to  be  done  1"  said  she,  "  and  there's 
an  end  of  it !  The  clothes  won't  be  dry  until  morn 
ing,  and  it  won't  do  to  put  them  too  near  the 
stove,  or  they'll  shrink  so  he  can't  get  them  on. 
And  he  can't  go  away  to  hunt  up  lodgings  wear 
ing  the  Duke's  dressing-gown  and  them  yellow 
breeches  1" 

"  Orders  is  orders,"  said  the  man,  "  and  unless 
I  get  special  leave,  it  can't  be  done." 

"  Well,  then,  go  and  get  special  leave,"  said 
she,  "  and  don't  stand  there  talking  about  it !" 

There  was  no  doubt  that  my  lodging  that  night 
was  the  subject  of  this  conversation,  but  I  had 
no  desire  to  interfere  with  the  good  intentions  of 
my  hostess.  I  must  stay  somewhere  until  my 
clothes  were  dry,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  stop  in 
my  present  comfortable  quarters. 

So  I  sat  still  and  smoked,  and  very  soon  I  heard 
the  big  shoes  of  the  little  man  grating  upon  the 
gravel  as  he  walked  rapidly  away  from  the  house. 
Now  came  the  good  woman  out  upon  the  piazza 
to  ask  me  if  I  had  found  my  tobacco  dry.  "  Be 
cause  if  it's  damp,"  said  she,  "  my  man  has  some 
very  good  'baccy  in  his  jar." 

I  assured  her  that  my  pouch  had  kept  dry  ; 
29 


A   Bicycle    of   Cathay 

and  then,  as  she  seemed  inclined  to  talk,  I  beg 
ged  her  to  sit  down  if  she  did  not  mind  the  pipe. 
Down  she  sat,  and  steadily  she  talked.  She 
congratulated  herself  on  her  happy  thought  to 
light  the  hall  lamp,  or  I  might  never  have  noticed 
the  house  in  the  darkness,  and  she  would  have 
been  sorry  enough  if  I  had  had  to  keep  on  the 
road  for  another  half-hour  in  that  dreadful  rain. 

On  she  talked  in  the  most  cheerful  and  com 
municative  way,  until  suddenly  she  rose  with  a 
start.  "  He's  coming  himself,  sir  1"  she  said, 
"  with  Miss  Putney." 

"  Who  is  '  he  '  ?"  I  asked. 

"  It's  the  master,  sir  Mr.  Putney,  and  his 
daughter.  Just  stay  here  where  you  are,  sir, 
and  make  yourself  comfortable.  I'll  go  and 
speak  to  them." 

Left  to  myself,  I  knocked  out  my  pipe  and  sat 
wondering  what  would  happen  next.  A  thing 
happened  which  surprised  me  very  much.  Upon 
a  path  which  ran  in  front  of  the  little  piazza  there 
appeared  two  persons — one,  an  elderly  gentle 
man,  with  gray  side-whiskers  and  a  pale  face, 
attired  in  clothes  with  such  an  appearance  of 
newness  that  it  might  well  have  been  supposed 
this  was  the  first  time  he  had  worn  them  ;  the 
other,  a  young  lady,  rather  small  in  stature,  but 
30 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  HER  TEETH" 


The   Duke's    Dressing-Gown 

extremely  pleasant  to  look  upon.  She  had  dark 
hair  and  large  blue  eyes  ;  her  complexion  was 
rich,  and  her  dress  of  light  silk  was  wonderfully 
well  shaped. 

All  this  I  saw  at  a  glance,  and  immediately 
afterwards  I  also  perceived  that  she  had  most 
beautiful  teeth;  for  when  she  beheld  me  as  I 
rose  from  my  chair  and  stood  in  my  elevated  po 
sition  before  her  she  could  not  restrain  a  laugh  ; 
but  for  this  apparent  impoliteness  I  did  not  blame 
her  at  all. 

But  not  so  much  as  a  smile  came  upon  the 
countenance  of  the  elderly  gentleman.  He,  too, 
was  small,  but  he  had  a  deep  voice.  "  Good- 
evening,  sir,"  said  he.  *  I  am  told  that  you  are 
the  school-master  at  Walford,  and  that  you  were 
overtaken  by  the  storm." 

I  assured  him  that  these  were  the  facts,  and 
stood  waiting  to  hear  what  he  would  say  next. 

"  It  was  very  proper  indeed,  sir,  that  my  gar 
dener  and  his  wife  should  take  you  under  the 
protection  of  this  roof,  but  as  I  hear  that  it  is 
proposed  that  you  should  spend  the  night  here, 
I  have  come  down  to  speak  about  it.  I  will  tell 
you  at  once,  sir,  that  I  have  given  my  man  the 
most  positive  orders  that  he  is  not  to  allow  any 
one  to  spend  a  night  in  this  house.  It  is  so 
31 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

conveniently  near  to  the  road  that  I  should  not 
know  what  sort  of  persons  were  being  enter 
tained  here  if  I  allowed  him  any  such  privilege/' 

As  he  spoke  the  young  lady  stood  silently  gaz 
ing  at  me.  There  was  a  remnant  of  a  smile 
upon  her  face,  but  I  could  also  see  that  she  was 
a  little  annoyed.  I  was  about  to  make  some 
sort  of  an  independent  answer  to  the  gentleman's 
remarks,  but  he  anticipated  me. 

"  I  do  not  want  you  to  think,  sir,  on  account  of 
what  I  have  said,  that  I  intend  to  drive  you  off 
my  property  at  this  hour  of  the  evening,  and  in 
your  inappropriate  clothing.  I  have  heard  of 
you,  sir,  and  you  occupy  a  position  of  trust  and, 
to  a  certain  degree,  of  honor,  in  your  village. 
Therefore,  while  I  cannot  depart  from  my  rule — 
for  I  wish  to  make  no  precedent  of  that  kind — I 
will  ask  you  to  spend  the  night  at  my  house. 
You  need  not  be  annoyed  by  the  peculiarity  of 
your  attire.  If  you  desire  to  avoid  observation 
you  can  remain  here  until  it  grows  darker,  and 
then  you  can  walk  up  to  the  mansion.  I  shall  have 
a  bed-room  prepared  for  you,  and  whenever  you 
choose  you  can  occupy  it.  I  have  been  informed 
that  you  have  had  something  to  eat,  and  it  is  as 
well,  for  perhaps  your  dress  would  prevent  you 
from  accepting  an  invitation  to  our  evening  meal." 
32 


The   Duke's   Dressing-Gown 

I  still  held  my  brier-wood  pipe  in  my  hand, 
and  I  felt  inclined  to  hurl  it  at  the  dapper  head 
of  the  consequential  little  gentleman,  but  with 
such  a  girl  standing  by  it  would  have  been  im 
possible  to  treat  him  with  any  disrespect,  and  as 
I  looked  at  him  I  felt  sure  that  his  apparent  su 
perciliousness  was  probably  the  result  of  too 
much  money  and  too  little  breeding. 

The  young  lady  said  nothing,  but  she  turned 
and  looked  steadily  at  her  father.  Her  counte 
nance  was  probably  in  the  habit  of  very  promptly 
expressing  the  state  of  her  mind,  and  it  now 
seemed  to  say  to  her  father,  "  I  hope  that  what 
you  have  said  will  not  make  him  decline  what 
you  offer  !" 

My  irritation  quickly  disappeared.  I  had  now 
entered  into  my  Cathay,  and  I  must  take  things 
as  I  found  them  there.  As  I  could  not  stay 
where  I  was,  and  could  not  continue  my  journey, 
it  would  be  a  sensible  thing  to  overlook  the  man's 
manner  and  accept  his  offer,  and  I  accordingly 
did  so.  I  think  he  was  pleased  more  than  he 
cared  to  express. 

"  Very  good,  sir  I"  said  he.     "As  soon  as  it 

grows  a  little  darker  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you 

walk  up  to  my  house.     As  I  said  before,  I  am 

sure  you  would  not  care  to  do  so  now,  as  you 

C  33 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

might  provoke  remarks  even  from  the  servants. 
Good-evening,  sir,  until  I  see  you  again." 

During  all  this  time  the  young  lady  had  not 
spoken,  but  as  the  two  disappeared  around  the 
corner  of  the  house  I  heard  her  voice.  She  spoke 
very  clearly  and  distinctly,  and  she  said,  "  It 
would  have  been  a  great  deal  more  gracious  if 
you  had  asked  him  to  come  at  once,  without  all 
that — "  The  rest  of  her  remarks  were  lost  to  me. 

The  little  man  and  his  wife  presently  came  out 
on  the  porch.  Her  countenance  expressed  a  sort 
of  resignation  to  thwarted  hospitality. 

"  It's  the  way  of  the  world,  sir  I"  she  said. 
"  The  ups  are  always  up  and  the  downs  are  al 
ways  down  !  I  expect  they  will  be  glad  to  have 
company  at  the  house,  for  it  must  be  dreadfully 
lonely  up  there — which  might  be  said  of  this 
house  as  well." 

It  soon  became  dark  enough  for  me  to  walk 
through  the  grounds  without  hurting  the  sensi 
bilities  of  their  proprietor,  and  as  I  arose  to  go 
the  good  wife  of  the  gardener  brought  me  my 
cap. 

*  I  dried  that  out  for  you,  sir,  for  I  knew  you 
would  want  it,  and  to-morrow  morning  my  man 
will  take  your  clothes  up  to  the  house." 

I  thanked  her  for  her  thoughtful  kindness,  and 
34 


The    Duke's   Dressing- Gown 

was  about  to  depart,  but  the  little  man  was  not 
quite  ready  for  me  to  go. 

"  If  you  don't  mind,  sir,"  said  he,  "  and  would 
step  back  there  in  the  light  just  for  one  minute, 
I  would  like  to  take  another  look  at  you.  I  don't 
suppose  Fll  ever  see  anybody  again  wearing  the 
Duke's  dressing-gown.  By  George,  sir,  you  do 
look  real  royal  !" 

His  wife  looked  at  me  admiringly.  "Yes,  sir," 
said  she,  "  and  I  wish  it  was  the  fashion  for  gen 
tlemen  to  dress  something  like  that  every  day. 
But  I  will  say,  sir,  that  if  you  don't  want  people 
to  be  staring  at  you,  and  will  just  wrap  that  gown 
round  you  so  that  the  lining  won't  be  seen,  you 
won't  look  so  much  out  of  the  way." 

As  I  walked  along  the  smooth,  hard  driveway 
I  adopted  the  suggestion  of  the  gardener's  wife  ; 
but  as  I  approached  the  house,  and  saw  that  even 
the  broad  piazza,  was  lighted  by  electric  lamps, 
I  was  seized  with  the  fancy  to  appear  in  all  my 
glory,  and  I  allowed  my  capacious  robe  to  float 
out  on  each  side  of  me  in  crimson  brightness. 

The  gentleman  stood  at  the  top  of  the  steps. 
"  I  have  been  waiting  for  you,  sir,"  said  he.  He 
looked  as  if  he  were  about  to  offer  me  his  hand, 
but  probably  considered  this  an  unnecessary 
ceremony  under  the  circumstances.  "  Would 
35 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

you  like  to  retire  to  your  room,  sir,  or  would  you 
prefer — prefer  sitting  out  here  to  enjoy  the  cool 
of  the  evening  ?  Here  are  chairs  and  seats,  sir, 
of  all  variety  of  comfort.  My  family  and  I  fre 
quently  sit  out  here  in  the  evenings,  but  to-night 
the  air  is  a  little  damp." 

I  assured  the  gentleman  that  the  air  suited 
me  very  well,  and  that  I  would  prefer  not  to  re 
tire  so  early ;  and  so,  not  caring  any  longer  to 
stand  in  front  of  the  lighted  doorway,  I  walked  to 
one  end  of  the  piazza  and  took  a  seat. 

"  We  haven't  yet — that  is  to  say,  we  are  still 
at  the  table,"  he  remarked,  as  he  followed  me  ; 
"  but  if  there  is  anything  that  you  would  like  to 
have,  I  should  be — " 

I  interrupted  him  by  declaring  that  I  had  supped 
heartily  and  did  not  want  for  anything  in  the 
world,  and  then,  with  some  sort  of  an  inarticu 
late  excuse,  he  left  me.  I  knew  very  well  that 
this  nervously  correct  personage  had  jumped 
up  from  his  dinner  in  order  that  he  might  meet 
me  at  the  door  and  thus  prevent  my  unconven 
tional  attire  from  shocking  any  of  the  servants. 

It  was  very  quiet  and  pleasant  on  the  piazza, 
but,  although  I  could  hear  that  a  great  deal  of 
talking  was  going  on  inside,  no  words  came  to  me, 
In  a  short  time,  however,  a  man-servant  in  liv- 


The    Duke's    Dressing- Gown 

ery  came  out  upon  the  piazza  and  approached 
me  with  a  tray  on  which  were  a  cup  of  coffee  and 
some  cigars.  I  could  not  refrain  from  smiling 
as  I  saw  the  man. 

"  The  old  fellow  has  been  forced  to  conquer 
his  prejudices/'  I  said  to  myself,  "  and  to  submit 
to  the  mortification  of  allowing  me  to  be  seen  by 
his  butler !" 

I  think,  however,  that  even  had  the  master 
been  regarding  us  he  would  have  seen  no  reason 
for  mortification  in  the  manner  of  his  servant. 
The  man  was  extremely  polite  and  attentive, 
suggesting  various  refreshments,  such  as  wine 
and  biscuits,  and  I  never  was  treated  by  a  lackey 
with  more  respect. 

Leaning  back  in  a  comfortable  chair,  I  sipped 
my  coffee  and  puffed  away  at  a  perfectly  delight 
ful  Havana  cigar.  "  Cathay  is  not  a  bad  place," 
said  I,  to  myself.  "  Its  hospitality  is  a  little 
queer,  but  as  to  gorgeousness,  luxury,  and —  "  I 
was  about  to  add  another  quality  when  my  mind 
was  diverted  by  a  light  step  on  the  piazza,  and, 
turning  my  head,  I  beheld  the  young  lady  I  had 
seen  before.  Instantly  I  rose  and  laid  aside  my 
cigar. 

"  Please  do  not  disturb  yourself,"  she  said.  "  I 
simply  came  out  to  give  a  little  message  from  my 
37 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

father.  Sit  down  again,  and  I  will  take  this  seat 
for  a  moment.  My  father's  health  is  delicate," 
she  said,  "  and  we  do  not  like  him  to  be  out  in  the 
night  air,  especially  after  a  rain.  So  I  came  in 
his  stead  to  tell  you  that  if  you  would  like  to 
come  into  the  house  you  must  do  so  without  the 
slightest  hesitation,  because  my  mother  and  I  do 
not  mind  that  dressing-gown  any  more  than  if  it 
were  an  ordinary  coat.  We  are  very  glad  to  have 
the  opportunity  of  entertaining  you,  for  we  know 
some  people  in  Waif ord — not  very  many,  but  some 
— and  we  have  heard  you  and  your  school  spoken 
of  very  highly.  So  we  want  you  to  make  your 
self  perfectly  at  home,  and  come  in  or  sit  out  here, 
just  as  your  own  feelings  in  regard  to  extraordi 
nary  fine  clothes  shall  prompt  you." 

At  this  she  reassured  me  as  to  the  beauty  of 
her  teeth.  "  As  long  as  you  will  sit  out  here," 
said  I,  to  myself, "  there  will  be  no  in-doors  for 
me." 

She  seemed  to  read  my  thoughts,  and  said  : 
"  If  you  will  go  on  with  your  smoking,  I  will  wait 
and  ask  you  some  things  about  Waif  ord.  I 
dearly  love  the  smell  of  a  good  cigar,  and  father 
never  smokes.  He  always  keeps  them,  how 
ever,  in  case  of  gentlemen  visitors/' 

She  then  went  on  to  talk  about  some  Walford 
38 


The   Duke's   Dressing- Gown 

people,  and  asked  me  if  I  knew  Mary  Talbot.  I 
replied  in  the  affirmative,  for  Miss  Talbot  was 
a  member  of  our  literary  society,  and  the  young 
lady  informed  me  that  Mary  Talbot  had  a  brother 
in  my  school — a  fact  of  which  I  was  aware  to  my 
sorrow — and  it  was  on  account  of  this  brother 
that  she  had  first  happened  to  see  me. 

"  See  me  1"  I  exclaimed,  with  surprise. 

"  Yes,"  said  she.  "  I  drove  over  to  the  village 
one  day  this  spring,  and  Mary  and  I  were  walk 
ing  past  your  school-house,  and  the  door  was 
wide  open,  for  it  was  so  warm,  and  we  stopped 
so  that  Mary  might  point  out  her  brother  to  me  ; 
and  so,  as  we  were  looking  in,  of  course  I  saw 
you." 

*  And  you  recognized  me,"  I  said,  *  when  you 
saw  me  at  the  gardener's  house?" 

*  We  call  that  the  lodge,"  said  she.     *  Not  that 
I  care  in  the  least  what  name  you 'give  it.     And 
while  we  are  on  a  personal  subject,  I  want  to  ask 
you  to  excuse  me  for  laughing  at  you  when  I  first 
saw  you  in  that  astounding  garb.     It  was  very 
improper,  I  know,  but  the  apparition  was  so  sud 
den  I  could  not  help  it." 

I  had  never  met  a  young  lady  so  thoroughly 
self-contained  as  this  one.     None  of  the  formal 
ities  of  society  had  been  observed  in  regard  to 
39 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

our  acquaintance  with  each  other,  but  she  talked 
with  me  with  such  an  easy  grace  and  with  such 
a  gentle  assurance  that  there  was  no  need  of  in 
troduction  or  presentation ;  I  felt  acquainted 
with  her  on  the  spot.  I  had  no  doubt  that  her 
exceptionally  gracious  demeanor  was  due  to 
the  fact  that  nobody  else  in  the  house  seemed 
inclined  to  be  gracious,  and  she  felt  hospitality 
demanded  that  something  of  the  kind  should  be 
offered  me  by  some  one  of  the  family. 

We  talked  together  for  some  minutes  longer, 
and  then,  apparently  hearing  something  in  the 
house  which  I  did  not  notice,  she  rose  rather 
abruptly. 

"  I  must  go  in,"  she  said ;  "  but  don't  you 
stay  out  here  a  second  longer  than  you  want  to." 

She  had  left  me  but  a  very  short  time  when 
her  father  came  out  on  the  piazza,  his  coat  but 
toned  up  nearly  to  his  chin.  "  I  have  been  de 
tained,  sir,"  he  said,  "by  a  man  who  came  to 
see  me  on  business.  I  cannot  remain  with  you 
out  here,  for  the  air  affects  me ;  but  if  you  will 
come  in,  sir,  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  do  so, 
without  regard  to  your  appearance.  My  wife 
is  not  strong  and  she  has  retired,  and  if  it  pleases 
you  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  you  tell  me  some 
thing  of  your  duties  and  success  in  Walford. 
40 


The   Duke's   Dressing- Gown 

Or,  if  you  are  fatigued,  your  room  is  ready  for 
you,  and  my  man  will  show  you  to  it." 

I  snatched  at  the  relief  held  out  to  me.  To 
sit  in  the  company  of  that  condescending  prig, 
to  bore  him  and  to  be  bored  by  him,  was  a  doleful 
grievance  I  did  not  wish  to  inflict  upon  myself, 
and  I  eagerly  answered  that  the  day  had  been 
a  long  and  hard  one,  and  that  I  would  be  glad  to 
go  to  bed. 

This  was  an  assertion  which  was  doubly  false, 
for  I  was  not  in  the  least  tired  or  sleepy;  and 
just  as  I  had  made  the  statement  and  was  enter 
ing  the  hall  I  saw  that  the  young  lady  was  stand 
ing  at  the  parlor  door ;  but  it  was  too  late  now 
for  me  to  change  my  mind. 

"  Brownster,"  said  Mr.  Putney  to  his  butler, 
"will  you  give  this  gentleman  a  candle  and  show 
him  to  his  room  ?" 

Brownster  quietly  bowed,  and  stepping  to  a 
table  in  the  corner,  on  which  stood  some  brass 
bed-room  candlesticks,  he  lighted  one  of  the 
candles  and  stood  waiting. 

The  gentleman  moved  towards  his  daughter, 
and  then  he  stopped  and  turned  to  me.  *  We 
have  breakfast,"  he  said,  "at  half-past  eight 
But  if  that  is  too  late  for  you,"  he  added,  with 
a  certain  hesitation,  "you  can  have — " 
41 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

At  this  moment  I  distinctly  saw  his  daughter 
punch  him  with  her  elbow,  and  as  I  had  no  de 
sire  to  make  an  early  start,  and  wished  very 
much  to  enjoy  a  good  breakfast  in  Cathay,  I 
quickly  declared  that  I  was  in  no  hurry,  and 
that  the  family  breakfast  hour  would  suit  me 
perfectly. 

The  young  lady  disappeared  into  the  parlor, 
and  I  moved  towards  the  butler ;  but  my  host, 
probably  thinking  that  he  had  not  been  quite 
as  attentive  to  me  as  his  station  demanded,  or 
wishing  to  let  me  see  what  a  fine  house  he  pos 
sessed,  stepped  up  to  me  and  asked  me  to  look 
into  the  billiard-room,  the  door  of  which  I  was 
about  to  pass.  After  some  remarks  of  depreca 
tory  ostentation,  in  which  he  informed  me  that 
in  building  his  house  he  thought  only  of  com 
fort  and  convenience,  and  nothing  of  show,  he 
carelessly  invited  my  attention  to  the  drawing- 
room,  the  library,  the  music-room,  and  the  little 
sitting-room,  all  of  which  were  furnished  with 
as  much  stiffness  and  hardness  and  inharmo 
nious  coloring  as  money  could  command. 

When  we  had  finished  the  round  of  these  rooms 
he  made  me  a  bow  as  stiff  as  one  of  his  white  and 
gold  chairs,  and  I  followed  the  butler  up  the  stair 
case.  The  man  with  the  light  preceded  me  into 
42 


The   Duke's   Dressing- Gown 

a  room  on  the  second  floor,  and  just  as  I  was 
about  to  enter  after  him  I  saw  the  young  lady 
come  around  a  corner  of  the  hall  with  a  lighted 
candle  in  her  hand. 

*  Good-night,"  she  said,  with  a  smile  so  charm 
ing  that  I  wanted  to  stop  and  tell  her  something 
about  Mary  Talbot's  brother;  but  she  passed 
on,  and  I  went  into  my  room. 

It  seemed  perfectly  ridiculous  to  me  that  peo 
ple  should  carry  around  bed-room  candles  in  a 
house  lighted  from  top  to  bottom  by  electricity, 
but  I  had  no  doubt  that  this  was  one  of  the  ultra- 
conventional  customs  from  which  the  dapper 
gentleman  would  not  allow  his  family  to  depart. 
I  did  not  believe  for  a  moment  that  his  daughter 
would  conform  to  such  nonsense  except  to  please 
her  parent. 

The  softly  moving  and  attentive  Brownster  put 
the  candle  on  the  table,  blew  it  out,  and  touched 
a  button,  thereby  lighting  up  a  very  handsomely 
furnished  room.  Then,  after  performing  every 
possible  service  for  me,  with  a  bow  he  left  me. 
Throwing  myself  into  a  great  easy  chair,  I  kicked 
off  my  embroidered  slippers  and  put  my  feet 
upon  another  chair  gay  with  satin  stripes.  Rais 
ing  my  eyes,  I  saw  in  front  of  me  a  handsome  mir 
ror  extending  from  the  floor  nearly  to  the  ceiling, 
43 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

and  at  the  magnificent  personage  which  therein 
met  my  gaze  I  could  not  help  laughing  aloud. 

I  rose,  stood  before  the  mirror,  folded  my  gor 
geous  gown  around  me,  spread  it  out,  contrasting 
the  crimson  glory  of  its  lining  with  the  golden 
yellow  of  my  trousers,  and  wondered  in  my  soul 
how  that  exceedingly  handsome  girl  with  the 
bright  eyes  could  have  controlled  her  risibilities 
as  she  sat  with  me  on  the  piazza.  I  could  see 
that  she  had  a  wonderful  command  of  herself,  but 
this  exercise  of  it  seemed  superhuman. 

I  walked  around  the  sumptuously  furnished 
chamber,  looking  at  the  pictures  and  bric-a-brac ; 
I  wondered  that  the  master  of  the  house  was  will 
ing  to  put  me  in  a  room  like  this — I  had  expected  a 
hall  bed-room,  at  the  best ;  I  sat  down  by  an  open 
window,  for  it  was  very  early  yet  and  I  did  not 
want  to  go  to  bed,  but  I  had  scarcely  seated  my 
self  when  I  heard  a  tap  at  the  door.  I  could  not 
have  explained  it,  but  this  tap  made  me  jump,  and 
I  went  to  the  door  and  opened  it  instead  of  calling 
out.  There  stood  the  butler,  with  a  tray  in  his 
hand  on  which  was  a  decanter  of  wine,  biscuits, 
cheese,  and  some  cigars. 

"  It's  so  early,  sir,"  said  Brownster,  "  that  she 
said — I  mean,  sir,  I  thought  that  you  might  like 
something  to  eat,  and  if  you  want  to  enjoy  a  cigar 
44 


IT   WOULD   BE   WELL  FOR  ME  TO   SWALLOW   A  CAPSULE 


The   Duke's   Dressing- Gown 

before  retiring,  as  many  gentlemen  do,  you  need 
not  mind  smoking  here.  These  rooms  are  so  well 
ventilated,  sir,  that  every  particle  of  odor  will  be 
out  in  no  time."  Placing  the  tray  upon  a  table, 
he  retired. 

For  an  hour  or  more  I  sat  sipping  my  wine, 
puffing  smoke  into  rings,  and  allowing  my  mind 
to  dwell  pleasingly  upon  the  situation,  the  most 
prominent  feature  of  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  a 
young  lady  with  bright  eyes  and  white  teeth,  and 
dressed  in  a  perfectly-fitting  gown. 

When  at  last  I  thought  I  ought  to  go  to  bed,  I 
stood  and  gazed  at  my  little  valise.  I  had  left  it 
on  the  porch  and  had  totally  forgotten  it,  but  here 
it  was  upon  a  table,  where  it  had  been  placed,  no 
doubt,  by  the  thoughtful  Brownster.  I  opened  it 
and  took  out  the  box  of  capsules.  I  did  not  feel 
that  I  had  taken  cold  in  the  night  air ;  this  was 
not  a  time  to  protect  myself  against  morning 
mists ;  but  still  I  thought  it  would  be  well  for  me 
to  swallow  a  capsule,  and  I  did  so. 


CHAPTER  IV 


A   BIT   OF  ADVICE 

IHE  next  morning  I  awoke  about 
_,  seven  o'clock.  My  clothes,  neat- 
gjj^  ly  brushed  and  folded,  were  on 
a  chair  near  the  bed,  with  my 
brightly  -  blackened  shoes  near 
by.  I  rose,  quickly  dressed  myself,  and  went 
forth  into  the  morning  air.  I  met  no  one  in 
the  house,  and  the  hall  door  was  open.  For 
ah  hour  or  more  I  walked  about  the  beau 
tiful  grounds.  Sometimes  I  wandered  near  the 
house,  among  the  flower  -  beds  and  shrubs ; 
sometimes  I  followed  the  winding  path  to  a 
considerable  distance ;  occasionally  I  sat  down 
in  a  covered  arbor  ;  and  then  I  sought  the 
shade  of  a  little  grove,  in  which  there  were 
hammocks  and  rustic  chairs.  But  I  met  no  one, 
and  I  saw  no  one  except  some  men  working  near 
the  stables.  I  would  have  been  glad  to  go  down 
to  the  lodge  and  say  "  Good-morning  "  to  my 


A  Bit   of  Advice 

kind  entertainers  there,  but  for  some  reason  or 
other  it  struck  me  that  that  neat  little  house  was 
too  much  out  of  the  way. 

When  I  had  had  enough  walking  I  retired  to 
the  piazza  and  sat  there,  until  Brownster,  with  a 
bow,  came  and  informed  me  that  breakfast  was 
served. 

The  young  lady,  in  the  freshest  of  summer  cos 
tumes,  met  me  at  the  door  and  bade  me  "  Good- 
morning,"  but  the  greeting  of  her  father  was  not 
by  any  means  cordial,  although  his  manner  had 
lost  some  of  the  stiff  condescension  which  had  sat 
so  badly  upon  him  the  evening  before.  The 
mother  was  a  very  pleasant  little  lady  of  few 
words  and  a  general  air  which  indicated  an  inti 
mate  acquaintance  with  back  seats. 

The  breakfast  was  a  remarkably  good  one. 
When  the  meal  was  over,  Mr.  Putney  walked  with 
me  into  the  hall.  *  I  must  now  ask  you  to  excuse 
me,  sir,"  said  he,  "  as  this  is  the  hour  when  I  re 
ceive  my  manager  and  arrange  with  him  for  the 
varied  business  of  the  day.  Good-morning,  sir. 
I  wish  you  a  very  pleasant  journey."  And,  barely 
giving  me  a  chance  to  thank  him  for  his  entertain 
ment,  he  disappeared  into  the  back  part  of  the 
house. 

The  young  lady  was  standing  at  the  front  of  the 
47 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

hall.  *  Won't  you  please  come  in,"  she  said, "  and 
see  mother  ?  She  wants  to  talk  to  you  about  Wai- 
ford." 

I  found  the  little  lady  in  a  small  room  opening 
from  the  parlor,  and  also,  to  my  great  surprise,  I 
found  her  extremely  talkative  and  chatty.  She 
asked  me  so  many  questions  that  I  had  little 
chance  to  answer  them,  and  she  told  me  a  great 
deal  more  about  Walford  and  its  people  and 
citizens  than  I  had  learned  during  my  nine 
months'  residence  in  the  village.  I  was  very 
glad  to  give  her  an  opportunity  of  talking,  which 
was  a  pleasure,  I  imagined,  she  did  not  often  en 
joy  ;  but  as  I  saw  no  signs  of  her  stopping,  I  was 
obliged  to  rise  and  take  leave  of  her. 

The  young  lady  accompanied  me  into  the 
hall.  "  I  must  get  my  valise,"  I  said,  "  and  then 
I  must  be  off.  And  I  assure  you — " 

"  No,  do  not  trouble  yourself  about  your  valise," 
she  interrupted.  "  Brownster  will  attend  to  that 
— he  will  take  it  down  to  the  lodge.  And  as  to 
your  gorgeous  raiment,  he  will  see  that  that  is  all 
properly  returned  to  its  owners." 

I  picked  up  my  cap,  and  she  walked  with  me  out 
upon  the  piazza.  "  I  suppose  you  saw  everything 
on  our  place,"  she  asked,  "  when  you  were  walk 
ing  about  this  morning  ?* 


A  Bit   of  Advice 

A  little  surprised,  I  answered  that  I  had  seen 
a  good  deal,  but  I  did  not  add  that  I  had  not  found 
what  I  was  looking  for. 

"  We  have  all  sorts  of  hot-houses  and  green 
houses,"  she  said,  "  but  they  are  not  very  interest 
ing  at  this  time  of  the  year,  otherwise  I  would  ask 
you  to  walk  through  them  before  you  go."  She 
then  went  on  to  tell  me  that  a  little  building  which 
she  pointed  out  was  a  mushroom-house.  "And 
you  will  think  it  strange  that  it  should  be  there 
when  I  tell  you  that  not  one  of  our  family  likes 
mushrooms  or  ever  tastes  one.  But  the  manager 
thinks  that  we  ought  to  grow  mushrooms,  and  so 
we  do  it." 

As  she  was  talking,  the  thought  came  to  me 
that  there  were  some  people  who  might  consider 
this  young  lady  a  little  forward  in  her  method  of 
entertaining  a  comparative  stranger,  but  I  dis 
missed  this  idea.  With  such  a  peculiarly  con 
stituted  family  it  was  perhaps  necessary  for  her 
to  put  herself  forward,  in  regard,  at  least,  to  the 
expression  of  hospitality. 

"  One  thing  I  must  show  you,"  she  said,  sud 
denly,  "  and  that  is  the  orchid-house  !  Are  you 
fond  of  orchids  ?" 

"  Under  certain  circumstances,"  I  said,  un 
guardedly,  "  I  could  be  fond  of  apple-cores."  As 
D  49 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

soon  as  I  had  spoken  these  words  I  would  have 
been  glad  to  recall  them,  but  they  seemed  to  make 
no  impression  whatever  on  her. 

We  walked  to  the  orchid-house,  we  went  through 
it,  and  she  explained  all  its  beauties,  its  singulari 
ties,  and  its  rarities.  When  we  came  out  again, 
I  asked  myself  :  "  Is  she  in  the  habit  of  doing  all 
this  to  chance  visitors?  Would  she  treat  a 
Brown  or  a  Robinson  in  the  way  she  is  treating 
me  ?"  I  could  not  answer  my  question,  but  if 
Brown  and  Robinson  had  appeared  at  that  mo 
ment  I  should  have  been  glad  to  knock  their 
heads  together. 

I  did  not  want  to  go ;  I  would  have  been  glad 
to  examine  every  building  on  the  place,  but  I 
knew  I  must  depart;  and  as  I  was  begin 
ning  to  express  my  sense  of  the  kindness  with 
which  I  had  been  treated,  she  interrupted  by 
asking  me  if  I  expected  to  come  back  this 
way. 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  that  is  not  my  plan.  I  expect 
to  ride  on  to  Waterton,  and  there  I  shall  stop 
for  a  day  or  two  and  decide  what  section  of  the 
country  I  shall  explore  next." 

"  And  to-day  ?"  she  said.  *  Where  have  you 
planned  to  spend  the  night?" 

"  I  have  been  recommended  to  stop  at  a  little 
50 


*'AS  SOON   AS  I   HAD    SPOKEN   THESE   WORDS 


A  Bit  of  Advice 

inn  called  the  '  Holly  Sprig/  "  I  replied.  *  It 
is  a  leisurely  day's  journey  from  Walford,  and 
I  have  been  told  that  it  is  a  pleasant  place  and 
a  pretty  country.  I  do  not  care  to  travel  all  the 
time,  and  I  want  to  stop  a  little  when  I  find  in 
teresting  scenery." 

*  Oh,  I  know  the  Holly  Sprig  Inn,"  said  she, 
speaking  very  quickly,  "and  I  would  advise 
you  not  to  stop  there.  We  have  lunched  there 
two  or  three  times  when  we  were  out  on  long 
drives.  There  is  a  much  better  house  about 
five  miles  the  other  side  of  the  Holly  Sprig.  It 
is  really  a  large,  handsome  hotel,  with  good 
service  and  everything  you  want — where  people 
go  to  spend  the  summer." 

I  thanked  her  for  her  information  and  bade 
her  good-bye.  She  shook  my  hand  very  cor 
dially  and  I  walked  away.  I  had  gone  but  a 
very  few  steps  when  I  wanted  to  turn  around 
and  look  back,  but  I  did  not. 

Before  I  had  reached  the  lodge,  where  I  had 
left  my  bicycle,  I  met  Brownster,  and  when  I 
saw  him  I  put  my  hand  into  my  pocket.  He 
had  certainly  been  very  attentive. 

"  I  carried  your  valise,  sir,"  he  said,  "  to  the 
lodge,  and  I  took  the  liberty  of  strapping  it  to 
your  handle-bar.  You  will  find  everything  all 
51 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

right,  sir,  and  the — other  clothes  will  be  prop 
erly  attended  to." 

I  thanked  him,  and  then  handed  him  some 
money.  To  my  surprise,  he  did  not  offer  to 
take  it.  He  smiled  a  little  and  bowed. 

"  Would  you  mind,  sir,"  he  said,  "  if  you  did 
not  give  me  anything  ?  I  assure  you,  sir,  that 
I'd  very  much  rather  that  you  wouldn't  give  me 
anything."  And  with  this  he  bowed  and  rap 
idly  disappeared. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  to  myself,  as  I  put  my  money 
back  into  my  pocket,  "  it  is  a  queer  country,  this 
Cathay." 

As  I  approached  the  lodge,  I  felt  that  perhaps 
I  had  received  a  lesson,  but  I  was  not  sure.  I 
would  wait  and  let  circumstances  decide.  The 
gardener  was  away  attending  to  his  duties  ;  but 
his  wife  was  there,  and  when  she  came  for 
ward,  with  a  frank,  cheery  greeting,  I  instantly 
decided  that  I  had  had  a  lesson.  I  thanked  her, 
as  earnestly  as  I  knew  how,  for  what  she  had 
done  for  me,  and  then  I  added  : 

"  You  and  your  husband  have  treated  me  with 
such  kind  hospitality  that  I  am  not  going  to  offer 
you  anything  in  return  for  what  you  have  done." 

"  You  would  have  hurt  us,  sir,  if  you  had," 
said  she. 

52 


A  Bit   of  Advice 

Then,  in  order  to  change  the  subject,  I  spoke 
of  the  honor  which  had  been  bestowed  upon  me 
by  being  allowed  to  wear  the  Duke's  dressing- 
gown.  She  smiled,  and  replied  : 

"  Honors  would  always  be  easy  for  you,  sir, 
if  you  only  chose  to  take  them." 

As  I  rode  away  I  thought  that  the  last  remark 
of  the  gardener's  wife  seemed  to  show  a  mental 
brightness  above  her  station,  although  I  did  not 
know  exactly  what  she  meant.  "  Can  it  be,"  I 
asked  myself,  "  that  she  fancies  that  good  fam 
ily,  six  feet  of  athletic  muscle,  and  no  money 
would  be  considered  sufficient  to  .make  matrimo 
nial  honors  easy  on  that  estate?"  If  such  an 
idea  had  come  into  her  head,  it  certainly  was  a 
very  foolish  one,  and  I  determined  to  drive  it 
from  my  mind  by  thinking  of  something  else. 

Suddenly  I  slackened  my  speed.  I  stopped 
and  put  one  foot  to  the  ground.  What  a  hard 
hearted  wretch  I  thought  myself  to  be!  Here 
I  was  thinking  of  all  sorts  of  nonsense  and  speed 
ing  away  without  a  thought  of  the  young  girl 
who  had  hurt  herself  the  day  before  and  who 
had  been  helped  by  me  to  her  home  !  She  lived 
but  a  few  miles  back,  and  I  had  determined,  the 
evening  before,  to  run  down  and  see  how  she  was 
getting  on  before  starting  on  my  day's  journey. 
53 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

I  turned  and  went  bowling  back  over  the  road 
on  which  I  had  been  so  terribly  drenched  the 
previous  afternoon.  In  a  very  little  while  my 
bicycle  was  leaning  against  the  fence  of  the 
pretty  house  by  the  road-side,  and  I  had  entered 
the  front  yard.  The  slender  girl  was  sitting  on 
the  piazza  behind  some  vines.  When  she  saw 
me  she  quickly  closed  the  book  she  was  reading, 
drew  one  foot  from  a  little  stool,  and  rose  to  meet 
me.  There  was  more  color  on  her  face  than  I 
had  supposed  would  be  likely  to  find  its  way 
there,  and  her  bright  eyes  showed  that  she  was 
not  only  surprised  but  glad  to  see  me. 

"  I  thought  you  were  ever  so  far  on  your  jour 
ney  \"  she  said.  "And  how  did  you  get  through 
that  awful  storm?" 

"  I  want  to  know  first  about  your  foot,"  I  said 
— *  how  is  that  ?" 

*  My  own  opinion  is,"  she  answered,  "that  it 
is  nearly  well.  Mother  knew  exactly  what  to  do 
for  it ;  she  wrapped  it  in  wet  cloths  and  dry 
cloths,  and  this  morning  I  scarcely  think  of  it. 
But  there  is  one  thing  I  want  to  tell  you  before 
you  meet  father  and  mother — for  they  want  to 
see  you,  I  know.  We  talked  a  great  deal  about 
you  last  night.  You  may  have  thought  it  strange 
I  told  you  about  the  peas,  but  I  had  to  do  it  to  ex- 
54 


A  Bit   of  Advice 

plain  why  I  could  not  ask  you  to  stop.  Now  I 
want  to  tell  you  that  this  accident  made  every 
thing  all  right.  As  soon  as  father  and  mother 
knew  that  I  was  hurt  they  forgot  everything 
else,  and  neither  of  them  remembered  that  there 
was  such  a  thing  as  a  pea-vine  in  the  world.  It 
really  seems  as  if  my  tumble  was  a  most  lucky : 
thing.  And  now  you  must  come  in.  They  will 
never  forgive  me  if  I  let  you  go  away  without 
seeing  them." 

The  mother,  a  pleasant  little  woman,  full  of 
cheerful  gratitude  to  me  for  having  done  so  much 
for  her  daughter,  and  the  father,  tall  and  slen 
der,  hurrying  in  from  the  garden,  his  face  beam 
ing  with  a  friendly  enthusiasm,  apologizing  for 
the  mud  on  his  clothes,  and  almost  in  the  same 
breath  telling  me  of  the  obligations  under  which 
I  had  placed  him,  both  seemed  to  me  at  the  first 
glance  to  be  such  kind,  simple-hearted,  simple- 
mannered  people  that  I  could  not  help  contrast 
ing  this  family  with  the  one  under  whose  roof  I 
had  passed  the  night. 

I  spent  half  an  hour  with  these  good  people, 
patiently  listening  to  their  gratitude  and  to  their 
deep  regrets  that  I  had  been  allowed  to  go  on  in 
the  storm ;  but  I  succeeded  in  allaying  their 
friendly  regrets  by  assuring  them  that  it  would 
55 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

have  been  impossible  to  keep  me  from  going  on, 
so  certain  had  I  been  that  I  could  reach  the  little 
town  of  Vernon  before  the  storm  grew  violent. 
Then  I  was  obliged  to  tell  them  that  I  did  not 
reach  Vernon,  and  how  I  had  spent  the  night. 

"  With  the  Putney s  !"  exclaimed  the  mother. 
"  I  am  sure  you  could  not  have  been  entertained 
in  a  finer  house  1" 

They  asked  me  many  questions  and  I  told 
them  many  things,  and  I  soon  discovered  that 
they  took  a  generous  interest  in  the  lives  of  other 
people.  They  spoke  of  the  good  this  rich  fam 
ily  had  done  in  the  neighborhood  during  the 
building  of  their  great  house  and  the  improve 
ment  of  their  estate,  and  not  a  word  did  I  hear 
of  ridicule  or  scandalous  comment,  although  in 
good  truth  there  was  opportunity  enough  for  it. 

The  young  lady  asked  me  if  I  had  seen  Miss 
Putney,  and  when  I  replied  that  I  had,  she  in 
quired  if  I  did  not  think  that  she  was  a  very  pretty 
girl.  "  I  do  not  know  her,"  she  said,  "  but  I  have 
often  seen  her  when  she  was  out  driving.  I  do 
not  believe  there  is  any  one  in  this  part  of  the 
country  who  dresses  better  than  she  does." 

I  laughed,  and  told  her  that  I  thought  I  knew 
somebody  who  dressed  much  finer  even  than 
Miss  Putney,  and  then  I  described  the  incident 

56 


A   Bit   of  Advice 

of  the  Duke's  dressing-gown.  This  delighted 
them  all,  and  before  I  left  I  was  obliged  to1  give 
every  detail  of  my  gorgeous  attire. 

It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  when  at  last  I  tore 
myself  away  from  this  most  attractive  little  fam 
ily.  To  live  as  they  lived,  to  be  interested  in  the 
things  that  interested  them — for  the  house  seemed 
filled  with  books  and  pictures — to  love  nature, 
to  love  each  other,  and  to  think  well  of  their 
fellow-beings,  even  of  the  super-rich — seemed 
to  me  to  be  an  object  for  which  a  man  of  my  tem 
perament  should  be  willing  to  strive  and  thank 
ful  to  win.  After  meeting  her  parents  I  did  not 
wonder  that  I  had  thought  the  slender  girl  so 
honest-hearted  and  so  lovable.  It  was  true 
that  I  had  thought  that. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE   LADY    AND    THE    CAVALIER 

|HE  day  was  fine,  and  the  land 
scape  lay  clean  and  sharply  de- 
§^  fined  under  the  blue  sky  and 
white  clouds.  I  sped  along  in 
a  cheerful  mood,  well  pleased 
with  what  my  good  cycle  had  so  far  done  for 
me.  Again  I  passed  the  open  gate  of  the  Putney 
estate,  and  glanced  through  it  at  the  lodge.  I 
saw  no  one,  and  was  glad  of  it — better  pleased, 
perhaps,  than  I  could  have  given  good  reason 
for.  When  I  had  gone  on  a  few  hundred  yards  I 
was  suddenly  startled  by  a  voice — a  female  voice. 
"  Well  1  well  1"  cried  some  one  on  my  right, 
and  turning,  I  saw,  above  a  low  wall,  the  head 
and  shoulders  of  the  young  lady  with  the  dark 
eyes  with  whom  I  had  parted  an  hour  or  so  be 
fore.  A  broad  hat  shaded  her  face,  her  eyes 
were  very  dark  and  very  wide  open,  and  I  saw 
some  of  her  beautiful  teeth,  although  she  was 

58 


I    DISMOUNTED    AND    APPROACHED    THE   WALL 


The  Lady   and   the  Cavalier 

not  smiling  or  laughing.  It  was  plain  that  she 
had  not  come  down  there  to  see  me  pass  ;  she 
was  genuinely  astonished.  I  dismounted  and 
approached  the  wall. 

"  I  thought  you  were  miles  and  miles  on  your 
way  I"  said  she.  It  occurred  to  me  that  I  had  re 
cently  heard  a  remark  very  like  this,  and  yet  the 
words,  as  they  came  from  the  slender  girl  and 
from  this  one,  seemed  to  have  entirely  different 
meanings.  She  was  desirous,  earnestly  de 
sirous,  to  know  how  I  came  to  be  passing  this 
place  at  this  time,  when  I  had  left  their  gate  so 
long  before,  and,  as  I  was  not  unwilling  to  grat 
ify  her  curiosity,  I  told  her  the  whole  story  of  the 
accident  the  day  before,  and  of  everything  which 
had  followed  it. 

"  And  you  went  all  the  way  back,"  she  said, 
"to  inquire  after  that  Burton  girl?" 

"  Do  you  know  her  ?"  I  asked. 

"  No/'  she  said,  "  I  do  not  know  her ;  but  I 
have  seen  her  often,  and  I  know  all  about  her 
family.  They  seem  to  be  of  such  little  conse 
quence,  one  way  or  the  other,  that  I  can  scarcely 
understand  how  things  could  so  twist  themselves 
that  you  should  consider  it  necessary  to  go 
back  there  this  morning  before  you  really  started 
on  your  day's  journey." 
59 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

I  do  not  remember  what  I  said,  but  it  was  some 
thing  commonplace,  no  doubt,  but  I  imagined 
I  perceived  a  little  pique  in  the  young  lady.  Of 
course  I  did  not  object  to  this,  for  nothing  could 
be  more  nattering  to  a  young  man  than  the  ex 
hibition  of  such  a  feeling  on  an  occasion  such 
as  this. 

But  if  she  felt  any  pique  she  quickly  brushed 
it  out  of  sight,  for,  as  I  have  said  before,  she  was 
a  young  woman  who  had  great  command  of 
herself.  Of  course  I  said  to  her  that  I  was  very 
glad  to  have  this  chance  of  seeing  her  again,  and 
she  answered,  with  a  laugh  : 

"  If  you  really  are  glad,  you  ought  to  thank 
the  Burton  girl.  This  is  one  of  my  favorite 
walks.  The  path  runs  along  inside  the  wall 
for  a  considerable  distance  and  then  turns  around 
the  little  hill  over  there,  and  so  leads  back  to  the 
house.  When  I  happened  to  look  over  the  wall 
and  saw  you  I  was  truly  surprised." 

The  ground  was  lower  on  the  outside  of  the 
wall  than  on  the  inside,  and  as  I  stood  and  looked 
almost  into  the  eyes  of  this  girl,  as  she  leaned 
with  her  arms  upon  the  smooth  top  of  the  wall, 
the  idea  which  the  gardener's  wife  put  into  my 
head  came  into  it  again.  This  was  a  beautiful 
face,  and  the  expression  upon  it  was  different 
60 


The  Lady  and  the   Cavalier 

from  anything  I  had  seen  there  before.  Her 
surprise  had  disappeared,  her  pique  had  gone, 
but  a  very  great  interest  in  the  incident  of  my 
passing  this  spot  at  the  moment  of  her  being 
there  was  plainly  evident.  As  I  gazed  at  her 
my  blood  ran  warmer  through  my  veins,  and 
there  came  upon  me  a  feeling  of  the  olden  time 
— of  the  days  when  the  brave  cavalier  rode  up 
to  the  spot  where,  waiting  for  him,  his  lady  sat 
upon  her  impatient  jennet. 

Without  the  least  hesitation,  I  asked: 

"  Do  you  ride  a  wheel  ?" 

She  looked  wonderingly  at  me  for  a  moment, 
and  then  broke  into  a  laugh. 

"  Why  on  earth  do  you  ask  such  a  question  as 
that?  I  have  a  bicycle,  but  I  am  not  a  very 
good  rider,  and  I  never  venture  out  upon  the  pub 
lic  road  by  myself." 

"  You  shouldn't  think  of  such  a  thing,"  said 
I ;  and  then  I  stood  silent,  and  my  mind  showed 
me  two  young  people,  each  mounted,  not  upon  a 
swift  steed,  but  upon  a  far  swifter  pair  of  wheels, 
skimming  onward  through  the  summer  air,  still 
rolling  on,  on,  on,  through  country  lanes  and 
woodland  roads,  laughing  at  pursuit  if  they 
heard  the  trampling  of  eager  hoofs  behind  them, 
with  never  a  telegraph  wire  to  stretch  menacing- 
61 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

ly  above  them,  and  so  on,  on,  on,  their  eyes  spar 
kling,  their  hearts  beating  high  with  youthful 
hope. 

Again,  through  the  tender  mists  of  the  after 
noon,  I  saw  them  returning  from  some  secluded 
Gretna  Green  to  bend  their  knees  and  bow  their 
heads  before  the  lord  of  the  fair  bride's  home. 

When  all  this  had  passed  through  my  brain, 
I  wondered  how  such  a  pair  would  be  received. 
I  knew  the  gardener  and  his  wife  would  welcome 
them,  to  begin  with  ;  Brownster  would  be  very 
glad  to  see  them  ;  and  I  believe  the  mother  would 
stand  with  tears  of  joy  and  open  arms,  in  what 
ever  quiet  room  she  might  feel  free  to  await  them. 
Moreover,  when  the  sterner  parent  heard  my  tale 
and  read  my  pedigree,  might  he  not  consider 
good  name  on  the  one  side  an  equivalent  for  good 
money  on  the  other  ? 

I  looked  up  at  her  ;  she  did  not  ask  me  what 
I  had  been  thinking  about  nor  remark  upon  my 
silence.  She,  too,  had  been  wrapped  in  revery  ; 
her  face  was  grave.  She  raised  her  arms  from 
the  wall  and  stood  up. 

It  was  plainly  time  for  me  to  do  something, 

and  she  decided  the  point  for  me  by  slightly 

moving  away  from  the  wall.    "  Some  time,  when 

you  are  riding  out  from  Walford,"  she  said,  "  we 

62 


The   Lady  and  the   Cavalier 

should  be  glad  to  have  you  stop  and  take  lunch 
eon.  Father  likes  to  have  people  at  luncheon." 

*  I  should  be  delighted  to  do  so,"  said  I ;  and 
if  she  had  asked  me  to  delay  my  journey  and 
take    luncheon  with  them  that  day  I  think  I 
should  have  accepted  the  invitation.     But  she 
did  not  do  that,  and  she  was  not  a  young  lady 
who  would  stand  too  long  by  a  public  road  talking 
to  a  young  man.     She  smiled  very  sweetly  and 
held  out  her  hand  over  the  wall.     "  Good-bye 
again,"  she  said.     As  I  took  her  hand  I  felt  very 
much  inclined  to  press  it  warmly,  but  I  refrained. 
Her  grasp  was  firm  and  friendly,  and  I  would 
have  liked  very  much  to  know  whether  or  not  it 
was  more  so  than  was  her  custom. 

I  was  mounting  my  wheel  when  she  called  to 
me  again.  *  Now,  I  suppose,"  she  said,  "  you 
are  going  straight  on  ?" 

*  Oh  yes,"I  replied, with  emphasis,"  straight  on." 
"And  the  name  of  the  hotel  where  you  will 

stay  to-night,"  said  she,  "it  is  the  Cheltenham. 
I  forgot  it  when  I  spoke  to  you  before.  I  do  not 
believe,  really,  it  is  more  than  three  miles  be 
yond  the  other  little  place  where  you  thought  of 
stopping." 

Then  she  walked  away  from  the  wall  and  I 
mounted.  I  moved  very  slowly  onward,  and 

63 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

as  1  turned  my  head  I  saw  that  a  row  of  straggling 
bushes  which  grew  close  to  the  wall  were  now 
between  her  and  me.  But  I  also  saw,  or  thought 
I  saw,  between  the  leaves  and  boughs,  that  her 
face  was  towards  me,  and  that  she  was  waving 
her  handkerchief.  If  I  had  been  sure  of  that, 
I  think  I  should  have  jumped  over  the  wall, 
pushed  through  the  bushes,  and  should  have 
asked  her  to  give  me  that  handkerchief,  that  I 
might  fasten  it  on  the  front  of  my  cap  as,  in  olden 
days,  a  knight  going  forth  to  his  adventures 
bound  upon  his  helmet  the  glove  of  his  lady-love. 
But  I  was  not  sure  of  it,  and,  seized  by  a  sudden 
energetic  excitement,  I  started  off  at  a  tremendous 
rate  of  speed.  The  ground  flew  backward  be 
neath  me  as  if  I  had  been  standing  on  the  plat 
form  of  a  railroad  car.  Not  far  ahead  of  me 
there  came  from  a  side  road  into  the  main  avenue 
on  which  I  was  travelling  a  Scorcher,  scorching. 
As  he  spun  away  in  front  of  me,  his  body  bent 
forward  until  his  back  was  nearly  horizontal, 
and  his  green-stockinged  legs  striking  out  be 
hind  him  with  the  furious  rapidity  of  a  great  frog 
trying  to  push  his  head  into  the  mud,  he  turned 
back  his  little  face  with  a  leer  of  triumphant  de 
rision  at  every  moving  thing  which  might  happen 
to  be  behind  him. 


I    THOUGHT    FOR    A    FEW    MOMENTS" 


The  Lady   and   the   Cavalier 

At  the  sight  of  this  green-legged  Scorcher  my 
blood  rose,  and  it  was  with  me  as  if  I  had  heard 
the  clang  of  trumpets  and  the  clash  of  arms.  I 
leaned  slightly  forward ;  I  struck  out  powerfully, 
swiftly,  and  steadily ;  I  gained  upon  the  Scorcher ; 
I  sent  into  his  emerald  legs  a  thrill  of  startled 
fear,  as  if  he  had  been  a  terrified  hare  bounding 
madly  away  from  a  pursuing  foe,  and  I  passed 
him  as  if  I  had  been  a  swift  falcon  swooping  by  a 
quarry  unworthy  of  his  talons. 

On,  on  I  sped,  not  deigning  even  to  look  back. 
The  same  spirit  possessed  me  as  that  which  fired 
the  hearts  of  the  olden  knights.  I  would  have 
been  glad  to  meet  with  another  Scorcher,  and  yet 
another,  that  for  the  sake  of  my  fair  lady  I  might 
engage  with  each  and  humble  his  pride  in  the 
dust. 

"  It  is  true,"  I  said  to  myself,  with  an  inward 
laugh,  "I  carry  no  glove  or  delicate  handker 
chief  bound  upon  my  visor — "  but  at  this  point 
my  mind  wandered.  I  went  more  slowly,  and  at 
last  I  stopped  and  sat  down  under  the  shade  of  a 
way-side  tree.  I  thought  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  I  said  to  myself,  "  It  seems  to  me  this  would 
be  a  good  time  to  take  one  of  those  capsules,"  and 
I  took  one.  I  then  fancied  that  perhaps  I  ought 
to  take  two,  but  I  contented  myself  with  one. 
E  65 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    HOLLY   SPRIG   INN 

|N  the  middle  of  the  day  I  stopped 
at  Vernon,  and  the  afternoon 
was  well  advanced  when  I  came 
in  sight  of  a  little  wray-side 
house  with  a  broad  unfenced 
green  in  front  of  it,  and  a  swinging  sign  which 
told  the  traveller  that  this  was  the  "  Holly  Sprig 
Inn." 

I  dismounted  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road 
and  gazed  upon  the  smoothly  shaven  green 
sward  in  front  of  the  little  inn ;  upon  the  pretty 
upper  windows  peeping  out  from  their  frames  of 
leaves ;  upon  the  queerly-shaped  projections  of 
the  building  ;  upon  the  low  portico  which  shaded 
the  doorway ;  and  upon  the  gentle  stream  of 
blue  smoke  which  rose  from  the  great  gray  chim 
ney. 

Then  I  turned  and  looked  over  the  surrounding 
country.     There  were  broad  meadows  slightly 
66 


The   Holly   Sprig    Inn 

descending  to  a  long  line  of  trees,  between  which 
I  could  see  the  glimmering  of  water.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  road,  and  extending  back  of  the 
inn,  there  were  low,  forest-crowned  hills.  Then 
my  eyes,  returning  to  nearer  objects,  fell  upon  an 
old-fashioned  garden,  with  bright  flowers  and 
rows  of  box,  which  lay  beyond  the  house. 

*  Why  on  earth,"  I  thought,  *  should  I  pass 
such  a  place  as  this  and  go  on  to  the  Cheltenham, 
with  its  waiters  in  coat  tails,  its  nurse-maids,  and 
its  rows  of  people  on  piazzas?  She  could  not 
know  my  tastes,  and  perhaps  she  had  thought 
but  little  on  the  subject,  and  had  taken  her  ideas 
from  her  father.  He  is  just  the  man  to  be  con 
tented  with  nothing  else  than  a  vast  sprawl 
ing  hotel,  with  disdainful  menials  expecting 
tips." 

I  rolled  my  bicycle  along  the  little  path  which 
ran  around  the  green,  and  knocked  upon  the 
open  door  of  Holly  Sprig  Inn. 

In  a  few  moments  a  boy  came  into  the  hall. 
He  was  not  dressed  like  an  ordinary  hotel  attend 
ant,  but  his  appearance  was  decent,  and  he  might 
have  been  a  sub-clerk  or  a  head  hall-boy. 

"  Can  I  obtain  lodging  here  for  the  night  ?*  I 
asked. 

The  boy  looked  at  me  from  head  to  foot,  and  an 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

expression  such  as  might  be  produced  by  too 
much  lemon  juice  came  upon  his  face. 
"No,"  said  he;  "we  don't  take  cyclers." 
This  reception  was  something  novel  to  me,  who 
had  cycled  over  thousands  of  miles,  and  I  was  not 
at  all  inclined  to  accept  it  at  the  hands  of  the  boy. 
I  stepped  into  the  hall.     "  Can  I  see  the  master  of 
this  house  ?"  said  I. 
"  There  ain't  none,"  he  answered,  gruffly. 

*  Well,  then,  I  want  to  see  whoever  is  in  charge." 
He  looked  as  if  he  were  about  to  say  that  he  was 

in  charge,  but  he  had  no  opportunity  for  such  im 
pertinence.  A  female  figure  came  into  the  hall 
and  advanced  towards  me.  She  stopped  in  an 
attitude  of  interrogation. 

"  I  was  just  inquiring,"  I  said,  with  a  bow — 
for  I  saw  that  the  new-comer  was  not  a  servant — 
*  if  I  could  be  accommodated  here  for  the  night, 
but  the  boy  informed  me  that  cyclers  are  not  re 
ceived  here." 

*  What !"  she  exclaimed,  and  turned  as  if  she 
would  speak  to  the  boy,  but  he  had  vanished. 
"  That  is  a  mistake,  sir,"  she  said  to  me.     "  Very 
few  wheelmen  do  stop  here,  as  they  prefer  a  hotel 
farther  on,  but  we  are  glad  to  entertain  them 
when  they  come." 

It  was  not  very  light  in  the  hall  in  which  we 
68 


The  Holly  Sprig  Inn 

stood,  but  I  could  see  that  this  lady  was  young, 
that  she  was  of  medium  size,  and  good-looking. 

"  Will  you  walk  in,  sir,  and  register  ?"  she  said. 
"I  will  have  your  wheel  taken  around  to  the 
back." 

I  followed  her  into  a  large  apartment  to  the 
right  of  the  hall — evidently  a  room  of  general 
assembly.  Near  the  window  was  a  desk  with  a 
great  book  on  it.  As  I  stood  before  this  desk  and 
she  handed  me  a  pen,  her  face  was  in  the  full  light 
of  the  window,  and  glancing  at  it,  the  thought 
struck  me  that  I  now  knew  why  Miss  Putney  did 
not  wish  me  to  stop  at  the  Holly  Sprig  Inn.  I 
almost  laughed  as  I  turned  away  my  head  to 
write  my  name.  I  was  amused,  and  at  the  same 
time  I  could  not  help  feeling  highly  complimented. 
It  cannot  but  be  grateful  to  the  feelings  of  a 
young  man  to  find  that  a  very  handsome  woman 
objects  to  his  making  the  acquaintance  of  an  ex 
tremely  pretty  one. 

When  I  laid  down  the  pen  she  stepped  up  and 
looked  at  my  name  and  address. 

"  Oh,"  said  she,  "  you  are  the  schoolmaster  at 
Waif  ord  ?"  She  seemed  to  be  pleased  by  this  dis 
covery,  and  smiled  in  a  very  engaging  way  as  she 
said,  "  I  am  much  interested  in  that  school,  for  I 
received  a  great  part  of  my  education  there." 

69 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

"  Indeed  !"  said  I,  very  much  surprised.  *  But 
I  do  not  exactly  understand.  It  is  a  boys'  school. " 

"  I  know  that/'  she  answered,  "  but  both  boys 
and  girls  used  to  go  there.  Now  the  girls  have  a 
school  of  their  own." 

As  she  spoke  I  could  not  help  contrasting  in  my 
mind  what  the  school  must  have  been  with  what 
it  was  now. 

She  stepped  to  the  door  and  told  a  woman  who 
was  just  entering  the  room  to  show  me  No.  2. 
The  woman  said  something  which  I  did  not  hear, 
although  her  tones  indicated  surprise,  and  then 
conducted  me  to  my  room. 

This  was  an  exceedingly  pleasant  chamber  on 
the  first  floor  at  the  back  of  the  house.  It  was 
furnished  far  better  than  the  quarters  generally 
allotted  to  me  in  country  inns,  or,  in  fact,  in 
hostelries  of  any  kind.  There  was  great  comfort 
and  even  simple  elegance  in  its  appointments. 

I  would  have  liked  to  ask  the  maid  some  ques 
tions,  but  she  was  an  elderly  woman,  who  looked 
as  if  she  might  be  the  mother  of  the  lemon- 
juice  boy,  and  as  she  said  not  a  word  to  me  while 
she  made  a  few  arrangements  in  the  room,  I  did 
not  feel  emboldened  to  say  anything  to  her. 

When  I  left  my  room  and  went  out  on  the  little 
porch,  I  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  was 

70 


The  Holly   Sprig   Inn 

not  a  house  of  great  resort.  I  saw  nobody  in  front 
and  I  heard  nobody  within.  There  seemed  to 
be  an  air  of  quiet  greenness  about  the  surround 
ings,  and  the  little  porch  was  a  charming  place 
in  which  to  sit  and  look  upon  the  evening  land 
scape. 

After  a  time  the  boy  came  to  tell  me  that  supper 
was  ready.  He  did  so  as  if  he  were  informing  me 
that  it  was  time  to  take  medicine  and  he  had  just 
taken  his. 

Supper  awaited  me  in  a  very  pleasant  room, 
through  the  open  windows  of  which  there  came  a 
gentle  breeze  which  made  me  know  that  there 
was  a  flower-garden  not  far  away.  The  table 
was  a  small  one,  round,  and  on  it  there  was  sup 
per  for  one  person.  I  seated  myself,  and  the 
elderly  woman  waited  on  me.  I  was  so  grateful 
that  the  boy  was  not  my  attendant  that  my  heart 
warmed  towards  her,  and  I  thought  she  might  not 
consider  it  much  out  of  the  way  if  I  said  some 
thing. 

"  Did  I  arrive  after  the  regular  supper-time  1"  I 
asked.  *  I  am  sorry  if  I  put  the  establishment  to 
any  inconvenience." 

"  What's  inconvenience  in  your  own  house  isn't 
anything  of  the  kind  in  a  tavern,"  she  said. 
a  We're  used  to  that.  But  it  doesn't  matter  to- 

71 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

day.     You're  the  only  transient  ;  that  is,  that 
eats  here/'  she  added. 

I  wanted  very  much  to  ask  something  about  the 
lady  who  had  gone  to  school  in  Walford,  but  I 
thought  it  would  be  well  to  approach  that  subject 
by  degrees. 

"  Apparently/'  said  I,  "  your  house  is  not  full." 

"  No/'  said  she,  "  not  at  this  precise  moment  of 
time.  Do  you  want  some  more  tea  ?" 

The  tone  in  which  she  said  this  made  me  feel 
sure  she  was  the  mother  of  the  boy,  and  when 
she  had  given  me  the  tea,  and  looked  around 
in  a  general  way  to  see  that  I  was  provided  with 
what  else  I  needed,  she  left  the  room. 

After  supper  I  looked  into  the  large  room  where 
I  had  registered  ;  it  was  lighted,  and  was  very 
comfortably  furnished  with  easy-chairs  and  a 
lounge,  but  it  was  an  extremely  lonely  place,  and, 
lighting  a  cigar,  I  went  out  for  a  walk.  It  was 
truly  a  beautiful  country,  and,  illumined  by  the 
sunset  sky,  with  all  its  forms  and  colors  softened 
by  the  growing  dusk,  it  was  more  charming  to  me 
than  it  had  been  by  daylight. 

As  I  returned  to  the  inn  I  noticed  a  man  stand 
ing  at  the  entrance  of  a  driveway  which  appeared 
to  lead  back  to  the  stable-yards.  "  Here  is  some 
one  who  may  talk/'  I  thought,  and  I  stopped. 

72 


WENT   OUT   FOR   A   WALK 


The  Holly   Sprig    Inn 

"  This  ought  to  be  a  good  country  for  sport/'  I 
said — "  fishing,  and  that  sort  of  thing." 

"  You're  stoppin'  here  for  the  night  ?"  he  asked. 
I  presumed  from  his  voice  and  appearance  that  he 
was  a  stable-man,  and  from  his  tone  that  he  was 
disappointed  that  I  had  not  brought  a  horse  with 
me. 

I  assented  to  his  question,  and  he  said  : 

"  I  never  heard  of  no  fishin'.  When  people 
want  to  fish,  they  go  to  a  lake  about  ten  miles 
furder  on." 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  care  particularly  about  fishing/' 
I  said,  "  but  there  must  be  a  good  many  pleasant 
roads  about  here." 

u  There's  this  one,"  said  he.  "  The  people  on 
wheels  keep  to  it."  With  this  he  turned  and 
walked  slowly  towards  the  back  of  the  house. 

"A  lemon-loving  lot !"  thought  I,  and  as  I  ap 
proached  the  porch  I  saw  that  the  lady  who  had 
gone  to  school  at  Walford  was  standing  there. 
I  did  not  believe  she  had  been  eating  lemons, 
and  I  stepped  forward  quickly  for  fear  that  she 
should  depart  before  I  reached  her. 

"  Been  taking  a  walk  ?"  she  said,  pleasantly. 
There  was  something  in  the  general  air  of  this 
young  woman  which  indicated  that  she  should 
have  worn  a  little  apron  with  pockets,  and  that 

73 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

her  hands  should  have  been  jauntily  thrust  into 
those  pockets;  but  her  dress  included  nothing 
of  the  sort. 

The  hall  lamp  was  now  lighted,  and  I  could  see 
that  her  attire  was  extremely  neat  and  becoming. 
Her  face  was  in  shadow,  but  she  had  beautiful 
hair  of  a  ruddy  brown.  I  asked  myself  if  she 
were  the  "lady  clerk"  of  the  establishment,  or 
the  daughter  of  the  keeper  of  the  inn.  She  was 
evidently  a  person  in  some  authority,  and  one 
with  whom  it  would  be  proper  for  me  to  converse, 
and  as  she  had  given  me  a  very  good  opportunity 
to  open  conversation,  I  lost  no  time  in  doing  so. 

"  And  so  you  used  to  live  in  Walford  ?"  I  said. 

"  Oh  yes,"  she  replied,  and  then  she  began  to 
speak  of  the  pleasant  days  she  had  spent  in  that 
village.  As  she  talked  I  endeavored  to  discover 
from  her  words  who  she  was  and  what  was  her 
position.  I  did  not  care  to  discuss  Walford.  I 
wanted  to  talk  about  the  Holly  Sprig  Inn,  but  I 
could  not  devise  a  courteous  question  which  would 
serve  my  purpose. 

Presently  our  attention  was  attracted  by  the 
sound  of  singing  at  the  corner  of  the  little  lawn 
most  distant  from  the  house.  It  was  growing 
dark,  and  the  form  of  the  singer  could  barely  be 
discerned  upon  a  bench  under  a  great  oak.  The 

74 


MRS.   CHESTER 


The   Holly   Sprig   Inn 

voice  was  that  of  a  man,  and  his  song  was  an 
Italian  air  from  one  of  Verdi's  operas.  He  sang 
in  a  low  tone,  as  if  he  were  simply  amusing  him 
self  and  did  not  wish  to  disturb  the  rest  of  the 
world. 

"  That  must  be  the  Italian  who  is  stopping 
here  for  the  night/'  she  said.  "  We  do  not  gener 
ally  take  such  people ;  but  he  spoke  so  civilly, 
and  said  it  was  so  hard  to  get  lodging  for  his 
bear—" 

"  His  bear  1"  I  exclaimed. 

u  Oh  yes,"  she  answered,  with  a  little  laugh, 
"  he  has  a  bear  with  him.  I  suppose  it  dances, 
and  so  makes  a  living  for  its  master.  Anyway,  I 
said  he  might  stay  and  lodge  with  our  stable 
man.  He  would  sing  very  well  if  he  had  a  better 
voice-  -don't  you  think  so  ?" 

"  We  do  not  generally  accommodate,"  "  I  said 
he  might  stay" — these  were  phrases  which  I 
turned  over  in  my  mind.  If  she  were  the  lady 
clerk  she  might  say  "we" — even  the  boy  said 
*  we  " — but "  I  said  he  might  stay  "  was  different. 
A  daughter  of  a  landlord  or  a  landlady  might  say 
that. 

I  made  a  remark  about  the  difficulty  of  finding 
lodging  for  man  and  beast,  if  the  beast  happened 
to  be  a  bear,  and  I  had  scarcely  finished  it  when 

75 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

from  the  house  there  came  a  shrill  voice,  flavored 
with  lemon  without  any  sugar,  and  it  said,  "  Mrs. 
Chester  1" 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  the  young  lady,  and  im 
mediately  she  went  in-doors. 

Here  was  a  revelation !  Mrs.  Chester !  Strange 
to  say,  I  had  not  thought  of  her  as  a  mar 
ried  woman ;  and  yet,  now  that  I  recalled 
her  manner  of  perfect  self-possession,  she  did 
suggest  the  idea  of  a  satisfied  young  wife.  And 
Mr.  Chester — what  of  him  ?  Could  it  be  pos 
sible  ?  Hardly.  There  was  nothing  about  her 
to  suggest  a  widow. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MRS.  CHESTER  IS  TROUBLED 

SAT  on  that  porch  a  good  while, 
but  she  did  not  come  out  again. 
Why  should  she  ?  Nobody  came 
out,  and  within  I  could  hear  no 
sound  of  voices.  I  might  cer 
tainly  recommend  this  inn  as  a  quiet  place.  The 
Italian  and  the  crickets  continued  singing  and 
chirping,  but  they  only  seemed  to  make  the  scene 
more  lonely. 

I  went  in-doors.  On  the  left  hand  of  the  hall 
was  a  door  which  I  had  not  noticed  before,  but 
which  was  now  open.  There  was  a  light  within, 
and  I  saw  a  prettily-furnished  parlor.  There 
was  a  table  with  a  lamp  on  it,  and  by  the  table 
sat  the  lady,  Mrs.  Chester.  I  involuntarily  stop 
ped,  and,  looking  up,  she  invited  me  to  come  in. 
Instantly  I  accepted  the  invitation,  but  with  a 
sort  of  an  apology  for  the  intrusion. 
"  Oh,  this  is  the  public  parlor,"  she  said,  "  al- 
77 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

though  everything  about  this  house  seems  pri 
vate  at  present.  We  generally  have  families 
staying  with  us  in  the  summer,  but  last  week 
nearly  all  of  them  went  away  to  the  sea-shore. 
In  a  few  days,  however,  we  expect  to  be  full 
again." 

She  immediately  began  to  talk  about  Waif  ord, 
for  evidently  the  subject  interested  her,  and  I  an 
swered  all  her  questions  as  well  as  I  could. 

"  You  may  know  that  my  husband  taught 
that  school.  I  was  his  scholar  before  I  became 
his  wife." 

I  had  heard  of  a  Mr.  Chester  who,  before  me, 
had  taught  the  school,  but,  although  the  infor 
mation  had  not  interested  me  at  the  time,  now  it 
did.  I  wished  very  much  to  ask  what  Mr.  Ches 
ter  was  doing  at  present,  but  I  waited. 

"  I  went  to  boarding-school  after  I  left  Wai- 
ford,"  said  she,  "  and  so  for  a  time  lost  sight  of 
the  village,  although  I  have  often  visited  it  since." 

"  How  long  is  it  since  Mr.  Chester  gave  up  the 
school  there  ?"  I  asked. 

This  proved  to  be  a  very  good  question  indeed. 
"About  six  years,"  she  said.  "He  gave  it  up 
just  before  we  were  married.  He  did  not  like 
teaching  school,  and  as  the  death  of  his  father 
put  him  into  the  possession  of  some  money,  he 

78 


SHE  BEGAN   TO   TALK   ABOUT  WALFORD " 


Mrs.   Chester   is   Troubled 

was  able  to  change  his  mode  of  life.  It  was  by 
accident  that  we  settled  here  as  innkeepers.  We 
happened  to  pass  the  place,  and  Mr.  Chester  was 
struck  by  its  beauty.  It  was  not  an  inn  then, 
but  he  thought  it  would  make  a  charming  one, 
and  he  also  thought  that  this  sort  of  life  would 
suit  him  exactly.  He  was  a  student,  a  great 
reader,  and  a  lover  of  rural  sports — such  as  fish 
ing  and  all  that." 

"  Was."  Here  was  a  dim  light.  "  Was  "  must 
mean  that  Mr.  Chester  had  been.  If  he  were  liv 
ing,  he  would  still  be  a  reader  and  a  student. 

*  Did  he  find  the  new  life  all  that  he  expected  ?" 
I  said,  hesitating  a  little  at  the  word  did,  as  it  was 
not  impossible  that  I  might  be  mistaken. 

*  Oh  yes,  and  more.     I  think  the  two  years  he 
spent  here  were  the  happiest  of  his  life." 

I  was  not  yet  quite  sure  about  the  state  of  af 
fairs  ;  he  might  be  in  an  insane  asylum,  or  he 
might  be  a  hopeless  invalid  up-stairs. 

"  If  he  had  lived,"  she  continued,  "  I  suppose 
this  would  have  been  a  wonderfully  beautiful 
place,  for  he  was  always  making  improvements. 
But  it  is  four  years  now  since  his  death,  and  in 
that  time  there  has  been  very  little  change  in  the 
inn." 

I  do  not  remember  what  answer  I  made  to  this 
79 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

remark,  but  I  gazed  out  upon  the  situation  as  if 
it  were  an  unrolled  map. 

*  When  you  wrote  your  name  in  the  book,"  she 
said,  *  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  you  had  brought  a 
note  of  introduction,  and  I  am  sure  I  am  very 
glad  to  be  acquainted  with  you,  for,  you  know, 
you  are  my  husband's  successor.     He  did  not 
like  teaching,  but  he  was  fond  of  his  scholars, 
and  he  always  had  a  great  fancy  for  school-teach 
ers.     Whenever  one  of  them  stopped  here — which 
happened  two  or  three  times — he  insisted  that  he 
should  be  put  into  our  best  room,  if  it  happened 
to  be  vacant,  and  that  is  the  reason  I  have  put 
you  into  it  to-day." 

This  was  charming.  She  was  such  an  ex 
tremely  agreeable  young  person  that  it  was  de 
lightful  for  me  to  think  of  myself  in  any  way  as 
her  husband's  successor. 

There  was  a  step  at  the  door.  I  turned  and 
saw  the  elderly  servant. 

*  Mrs.  Chester,"  she  said,  *  I'm  goin'  up/'  and 
every  word  was  flavored  with  citric  acid. 

"  Good-night,"  said  Mrs.  Chester,  taking  up  her 
basket  and  her  work.  "  You  know,  you  need  not 
retire  until  you  wish  to  do  so.  There  is  a  room 
opposite,  where  gentlemen  smoke." 

I  did  not  enter  the  big,  lonely  room.  I  went  to 
80 


Mrs.   Chester   is   Troubled 

my  own  chamber,  which,  I  had  just  been  inform 
ed,  was  the  best  in  the  house.  I  sat  down  in  an 
easy-chair  by  the  open  window.  I  looked  up  to 
the  twinkling  stars. 

Reading,  studying,  fishing,  beautiful  country, 
and  all  that.  And  he  did  not  like  school-teach 
ing  !  No  wonder  he  was  happier  here  than  he 
had  ever  been  before  !  My  eyes  wandered  around 
the  tastefully  furnished  room.  "  Her  husband's 
successor,"  I  said  to  myself,  pondering.  "  He  did 
not  like  school-teaching,  and  he  was  so  happy 
here."  Of  course  he  was  happy.  "  Died  and  left 
him  some  money."  There  was  no  one  to  leave 
me  any  money,  but  I  had  saved  some  for  the 
time  when  I  should  devote  myself  entirely  to  my 
profession.  Profession — I  thought.  After  all, 
what  is  there  in  a  profession  ?  Slavery ;  anx 
iety.  And  he  chose  a  life  of  reading,  studying, 
fishing,  and  everything  else. 

I  turned  to  the  window  and  again  looked  up 
into  the  sky.  There  was  a  great  star  up  there, 
and  it  seemed  to  wink  cheerfully  at  me  as  the 
words  came  into  my  mind,  "  her  husband's  suc 
cessor." 

When  I  opened  my  little  valise,  before  going 
to  bed,  I  saw  the  box  the  doctor's  daughter  had 
given  me. 

F  81 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

After  sitting  so  long  at  the  open  window, 
thought  I,  it  might  be  well  to  take  one  of  these 
capsules,  and  I  swallowed  one. 

When  I  was  called  to  breakfast  the  next  morn 
ing  I  saw  that  the  table  was  laid  with  covers  for 
two.  In  a  moment  my  hostess  entered  and  bade 
me  good-morning.  We  sat  down  at  the  table  ; 
and  the  elderly  woman  waited.  I  could  now  see 
that  her  face  was  the  color  of  a  shop-worn  lemon. 

As  for  the  lady  who  had  gone  to  school  at  Wai- 
ford — I  wondered  what  place  in  the  old  school 
room  she  had  occupied — she  was  more  charming 
than  ever.  Her  manner  was  so  cordial  and  cheer 
ful  that  I  could  not  doubt  that  she  considered  the 
entry  of  my  name  in  her  book  as  a  regular  intro 
duction.  She  asked  me  about  my  plan  of  travel, 
how  far  I  would  go  in  a  day,  and  that  sort  of 
thing.  The  elderly  woman  was  very  grim,  and 
somehow  or  other  I  did  not  take  very  much  in 
terest  in  my  plan  of  travel,  but  the  meal  was  an 
extremely  pleasant  one  for  all  that. 

The  natural  thing  for  me  to  do  after  I  finished 
my  breakfast  was  to  pay  my  bill  and  ride  away, 
but  I  felt  no  inclination  for  anything  of  the  sort. 
In  fact,  the  naturalness  of  departure  did  not  strike 
me.  I  went  out  on  the  little  porch  and  gazed 
upon  the  bright,  fresh  morning  landscape,  and 
82 


Mrs.  Chester   is  Troubled 

as  I  did  so  I  asked  myself  why  I  should  mount 
my  bicycle  and  wheel  away  over  hot  and  dusty 
roads,  leaving  all  this  cool,  delicious  beauty  be 
hind  me. 

What  could  I  find  more  enjoyable  than  this? 
Why  should  I  not  spend  a  few  days  at  this  inn, 
reading,  studying,  fishing?  Here  I  wondered 
why  that  man  told  me  such  a  lie  about  the  fish 
ing.  If  I  wanted  to  exercise  on  my  wheel  1  felt 
sure  there  were  pretty  roads  hereabout.  I  had 
plenty  of  time  before  me — my  whole  vacation. 
Why  should  I  be  consumed  by  this  restless  de 
sire  to  get  on  ? 

I  could  not  help  smiling  as  I  thought  of  my 
somewhat  absurd  fancies  of  the  night  before ; 
but  they  were  pleasant  fancies,  and  I  did  not 
wonder  that  they  had  come  to  me.  It  certainly 
is  provocative  of  pleasant  fancies  to  have  an  ex 
ceedingly  attractive  young  woman  talk  of  you 
in  any  way  as  her  husband's  successor. 

I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  what  I  ought  to 
do,  and  I  walked  back  into  the  hall.  I  glanced 
into  the  parlor,  but  it  was  unoccupied.  Then  I 
went  into  the  large  room  on  the  right;  no  one 
was  there,  and  I  stood  by  the  window  trying  to 
make  up  my  mind  in  regard  to  proposing  a  brief 
stay  at  the  inn. 

83 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

It  really  did  not  seem  necessary  to  give  the 
matter  much  thought.  Here  was  a  place  of  pub 
lic  entertainment,  and,  as  I  was  one  of  the  public, 
why  should  I  not  be  entertained  ?  I  had  stop 
ped  at  many  a  road-side  hostelry,  and  in  each  one 
of  them  I  knew  I  would  be  welcome  to  stay  as 
long  as  I  was  willing  to  pay. 

Still,  there  was  something,  some  sort  of  an  un 
defined  consciousness,  which  seemed  to  rise  in 
the  way  of  an  off-hand  proposal  to  stay  at  this 
inn  for  several  days,  when  I  had  clearly  stated 
that  I  wished  to  stop  only  for  the  night. 

While  I  was  still  turning  over  this  matter  in 
my  mind  Mrs.  Chester  came  into  the  room.  I 
had  expected  her.  The  natural  thing  for  her  to 
do  was  to  come  in  and  receive  the  amount  I  owed 
her  for  her  entertainment  of  me,  but  as  I  looked 
at  her  I  could  not  ask  her  for  my  bill.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  such  a  thing  would  shock  her  sensi 
bilities.  Moreover,  I  did  not  want  her  bill. 

It  was  plain  enough,  however,  that  she  ex 
pected  me  to  depart,  for  she  asked  me  where  I 
proposed  to  stop  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and 
she  suggested  that  she  should  have  a  light  lunch 
eon  put  up  for  me.  She  thought  probably  a 
wheelman  would  like  that  sort  of  thing,  for  then 
he  could  stop  and  rest  wherever  it  suited  him. 


Mrs.   Chester    is  Troubled 

*  Speaking  of  stopping/'  said  I,  *  I    am  very 
glad  that  I  did  not  do  as  I  was  advised  to  do 
and  go  on  to  the  Cheltenham.     I  do  not  know 
anything  about  that  hotel,  but  I  am  sure  it  is 
not  so  charming  as  this  delightful  little  inn  with 
its  picturesque  surroundings." 

*  I  am  glad  you  did  not,"  she  answered.    "  Who 
advised  you  to  go  on  to  the  Cheltenham  ?" 

*  Miss  Putney,"  said  I.     *  Her  father's  place 
is  between  here  and  Walford.     I  stopped  there 
night  before  last."    And  then,  as  I  was  glad  of 
an  opportunity  to  prolong  the  interview,  I  told 
her  the  history  of  my  adventures  at  that  place. 

Mrs.  Chester  was  amused,  and  I  thought  I 
might  as  well  tell  her  how  I  came  to  be  delayed 
on  the  road  and  so  caught  in  the  storm,  and  I 
related  my  experience  with  Miss  Burton.  I  would 
have  been  glad  to  go  still  farther  back  and  tell 
her  how  I  came  to  take  the  school  at  Walford,  and 
anything  else  she  might  care  to  listen  to. 

When  I  told  her  about  Miss  Burton  she  sat 
down  in  a  chair  near  by  and  laughed  heartily. 

"  It  is  wonderfully  funny,"  she  said,  "  that  you 
should  have  met  those  two  young  ladies  and 
should  then  have  stopped  here." 

"  You  know  them  ?"  I  said,  promptly  taking 
another  chair. 

85 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  Oh  yes,"  she  answered.  *  I  know  them  both  ; 
and,  as  I  have  mentioned  that  your  meeting  with 
them  seemed  funny  to  me,  I  suppose  I  ought  to 
tell  you  the  reason.  Some  time  ago  a  photog 
rapher  in  Walford,  who  has  taken  a  portrait  of 
me  and  also  oi  Miss  Putney  and  Miss  Burton, 
took  it  into  his  head  to  print  the  three  on  one 
card  and  expose  them  for  sale  with  a  ridiculous 
inscription  under  them.  This  created  a  great 
deal  of  talk,  and  Miss  Putney  made  the  photog 
rapher  destroy  his  negative  and  all  the  cards  he 
had  on  hand.  After  that  we  were  talked  about 
as  a  trio,  and,  I  expect,  a  good  deal  of  fun  was 
made  of  us.  And  now  it  seems  a  little  odd — does 
it  not? — that  you  have  become  acquainted  with 
all  the  members  of  this  trio  as  soon  as  you  left 
Walford.  But  I  must  not  keep  you  in  this  way." 
And  she  rose. 

Now  was  my  opportunity  to  make  known  my 
desire  to  be  kept,  but  before  I  could  do  so  the  boy 
hurriedly  came  into  the  room. 

"  The  Dago  wants  to  see  you,"  he  said.  "  He's 
in  an  awful  hurry." 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  Mrs.  Chester.  "  It  is  that 
Italian  who  was  singing  outside  last  night.  I 
thought  he  had  gone.  Would  you  mind  wait 
ing  a  few  minutes  ?" 

86 


Mrs.  Chester   is  Troubled 

It  was  getting  harder  and  harder  to  enunciate 
my  proposition  to  make  a  sojourn  at  the  inn.  I 
wished  that  I  had  spoken  sooner.  It  is  so  much 
easier  to  do  things  promptly. 

While  I  was  waiting  the  elderly  woman  came 
in.  "  Do  you  want  the  boy  to  take  your  little 
bag  out  and  strap  it  on  ?"  said  she. 

Evidently  there  was  no  want  of  desire  to  speed 
the  departing  guest.  *  Oh,  I  will  attend  to  that 
myself,"  said  I,  but  I  made  no  step  to  do  it.  When 
my  hostess  came  back  I  wanted  to  be  there. 

Presently  she  did  come  back.  She  ran  in  hur 
riedly,  and  her  face  was  flushed.  "Here  is  a 
very  bad  piece  of  business,"  she  said.  *  That 
man's  bear  has  eaten  the  tire  off  one  of  your 
wheels !" 

*  What !"  I  exclaimed,  and  my  heart  bounded 
within  me.  Here,  perhaps,  was  the  solution  of 
all  my  troubles.  If  by  any  happy  chance  my 
bicycle  had  been  damaged,  of  course  I  could  not 
go  on. 

"  Come  and  see,"  she  said,  and,  following  her 
through  the  back  hall  door,  we  entered  a  large, 
enclosed  yard.  Not  far  from  the  house  was  a 
shed,  and  in  front  of  this  lay  my  bicycle  on  its 
side  in  an  apparently  disabled  condition.  An 
Italian,  greatly  agitated,  was  standing  by  it. 

87 


A    Bicycle   of  Cathay 

He  was  hatless,  and  his  tangled  black  hair  hung 
over  his  swarthy  face.  At  the  other  end  of  the 
yard  was  a  whitish-brown  bear,  not  very  large, 
and  chained  to  a  post. 

I  approached  my  bicycle,  earnestly  hoping  that 
the  bear  had  been  attempting  to  ride  it,  but  I 
found  that  he  had  been  trying  to  do  something 
very  different.  He  had  torn  the  pneumatic  tire 
from  one  of  the  wheels,  and  nearly  the  whole  of 
it  was  lying  scattered  about  in  little  bits  upon  the 
ground. 

"  How  did  this  happen  ?"  I  said  to  the  Italian, 
feeling  very  much  inclined  to  give  him  a  dollar 
for  the  good  offices  of  the  beast. 

The  man  began  immediately  to  pour  out  an 
explanation  upon  me.  His  English  was  as 
badly  broken  as  the  torn  parts  of  my  tire,  but  I 
had  no  trouble  in  understanding.  The  bear  had 
got  loose  in  the  night.  He  had  pulled  up  a  little 
post  to  which  he  had  been  chained.  The  man 
had  not  known  it  was  such  a  weak  post.  The 
bear  was  never  muzzled  at  night.  He  had  gone 
about  looking  for  something  to  eat.  He  was 
very  fond  of  India-rubber — or,  as  the  man  called 
it,  "  Injer-rub."  He  always  ate  up  India-rubber 
shoes  wherever  he  could  find  them.  He  would 
eat  them  off  a  man's  feet  if  the  man  should  be 
88 


BUT   WE   WERE   NOT   ALONE 


Mrs.   Chester   is  Troubled 

asleep.  He  liked  the  taste  of  Injer-rub.  He  did 
not  swallow  it.  He  dropped  it  all  about  in  little 
bits. 

Then  the  man  sprang  towards  me  and  seized 
the  injured  wheel.  "  See  !"  he  exclaimed.  "  He 
eat  your  Injer-rub,  but  he  no  break  your  ma 
chine  !" 

This  was  very  true.  The  wheel  did  not  seem 
to  be  injured,  but  still  I  could  not  travel  without 
a  tire.  This  was  the  most  satisfactory  feature  of 
the  affair.  If  he  and  I  had  been  alone  together 
I  would  have  handed  the  man  two  dollars,  and 
told  him  to  go  in  peace  with  his  bear  and  give 
himself  no  more  trouble. 

But  we  were  not  alone.  The  stable-man  who 
had  lied  to  me  about  the  fishing  was  there ;  the 
boy  who  had  lied  to  me  about  the  reception  of 
cyclers  was  there ;  the  lemon-faced  woman  was 
there,  standing  close  to  Mrs.  Chester ;  and  there 
were  two  maids  looking  out  of  the  window  of  the 
kitchen. 

"  This  is  very  bad  indeed  1"  said  Mrs.  Chester, 
addressing  the  Italian.  "  You  have  damaged 
this  gentleman's  wheel,  and  you  must  pay  him 
for  it." 

Now  the  Italian  began  to  tear  his  hair.  Never 
before  had  I  seen  any  one  tear  his  hair.  More 
89 


A   Bicycle  of  Cathay 

than  that,  he  shed  tears,  and  declared  he  had 
no  money.  After  he  had  paid  his  bill  he  would 
not  have  a  cent  in  the  world.  His  bear  had  ruined 
him.  He  was  in  despair. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?"  said  Mrs.  Chester 
to  me.  "  You  cannot  use  your  bicycle." 

Before  I  could  answer,  the  elderly  woman  ex 
claimed  :  "  You  ought  to  come  in,  Mrs.  Chester ! 
This  is  no  place  for  you  I  Suppose  that  beast 
should  break  loose  again  1  Let  the  gentleman 
settle  it  with  the  man." 

I  do  not  think  my  hostess  wanted  to  go,  but 
she  accompanied  her  grim  companion  into  the 
house. 

"  I  suppose  there  is  no  place  near  here  where  I 
can  have  a  new  tire  put  on  this  wheel  ?"  said  I  to 
the  stable-man. 

"  Not  nearer  than  Waterton,"  he  replied ;  "  but 
we  could  take  you  and  your  machine  there  in  a 
wagon." 

*  That's  so,"  said  the  boy.     "  Til  drive." 

I  glared  upon  the  two  fellows  as  if  they  had 
been  a  couple  of  fiends  who  were  trying  to  put  a 
drop  of  poison  into  my  cup  of  joy.  To  be  dole 
fully  driven  to  Waterton  by  that  boy  1  What  a 
picture !  How  different  from  my  picture  1 

The  Italian  sat  down  on  the  ground  and  em- 
90 


Mrs.  Chester   is   Troubled 

braced  his  knees  with  his  arms.  He  moaned  and 
groaned,  and  declared  over  and  over  again  that 
he  was  ruined ;  that  he  had  no  money  to  pay. 

In  regard  to  him  my  mind  was  made  up.  I 
would  forgive  him  his  debt  and  send  him  away 
with  my  blessing,  even  if  I  found  no  opportu 
nity  of  rewarding  him  for  his  great  service 
to  me. 

I  would  go  in  and  speak  to  Mrs.  Chester  about 
it.  Of  course  it  would  not  be  right  to  do  any 
thing  without  consulting  her,  and  now  I  could 
boldly  tell  her  that  it  would  suit  me  very  well  to 
stop  at  the  inn  until  my  wheel  could  be  sent  away 
and  repaired. 

As  I  entered  the  large  room  the  elderly  woman 
came  out.  She  was  plainly  in  a  bad  humor. 
Mrs.  Chester  was  awaiting  me  with  an  anxious 
countenance,  evidently  much  more  troubled  about 
the  damage  to  my  bicycle  than  I  was.  I  hastened 
to  relieve  her  mind. 

"  It  does  not  matter  a  bit  about  the  damage 
done  by  the  bear,"  I  said.  "  I  should  not  wonder 
if  that  wheel  would  be  a  great  deal  better  for  a 
new  tire,  anyway.  And,  as  for  that  doleful 
Italian,  I  do  not  want  to  be  hard  on  him,  even  if 
he  has  a  little  money  in  his  pocket." 

But  my  remarks  did  not  relieve  her,  while  my 
9' 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

cheerful  and  contented  tones  seemed  to  add  to  her 
anxiety. 

"  But  you  cannot  travel/'  she  said,  "  and  there 
is  no  place  about  here  where  you  could  get  a  new 
tire." 

It  was  very  plain  that  no  one  in  this  house 
entertained  the  idea  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing 
for  me  to  rest  here  quietly  until  my  bicycle  could 
be  sent  away  and  repaired.  In  fact,  my  first 
statement,  that  I  wished  to  stop  but  for  the  night, 
was  accepted  with  general  approval. 

I  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  refer  to  the  man's 
offer  to  send  me  and  my  machine  to  Waterton  in  a 
wagon,  and  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  boldly  an 
nouncing  that  I  was  in  no  hurry  whatever  to  get 
on,  and  that  it  would  suit  me  very  well  to  wait 
here  for  a  few  days,  when  the  boy  burst  into  the 
room,  one  end  of  his  little  neck-tie  flying  behind 
him. 

"The  Dago's  putl"  he  shouted.  *  He's  put 
off  and  gone  !" 

We  looked  at  him  in  amazement. 

"  Gone  !"  I  exclaimed.  "  Shall  I  go  after  him  ? 
Has  he  paid  his  bill?" 

"  No,  you  needn't  do  that,"  said  the  boy.  *  He 
cut  across  the  fields  like  a  chipmunk — skipped 
right  over  the  fences  1  You'd  never  ketch  him, 
92 


Mrs.  Chester   is   Troubled 

and  you  needn't  try  !  He's  off  for  the  station. 
I'll  tell  you  all  about  it/'  said  the  boy,  turning  to 
his  mistress,  who  had  been  too  much  startled  to 
ask  any  questions.  "  When  he  went  into  the 
house  " — jerking  his  head  in  my  direction — "  I 
was  left  alone  with  the  Dago,  and  he  begun  to 
talk  to  me.  He  asked  me  a  lot  of  things.  He 
rattled  on  so  I  couldn't  understand  half  he  said. 
He  wanted  to  know  how  much  a  tire  cost;  he 
wanted  to  know  how  much  his  bill  would  be,  and 
if  he'd  have  to  pay  for  the  little  post  that  was 
broke. 

"  Then  he  asked  if  I  thought  that  if  he'd  prom 
ise  to  send  you  the  money  would  the  gentleman 
let  him  go  without  payin'  for  the  tire,  and  he 
wanted  to  know  what  your  name  was;  and 
when  I  told  him  you  hadn't  no  husband,  and 
what  your  name  was,  he  asked  me  to  say  it  over 
again,  and  then  he  made  me  say  it  once  more — 
the  whole  of  it ;  and  while  I  was  tellin'  him  that 
I'd  write  it  down  for  him  if  he  wanted  to  send  you 
the  money,  he  give  a  big  jump  and  he  stuck  his 
head  out  like  a  bull.  He  looked  so  queer  that  I 
was  gettin'  skeered;  and  then  he  says,  almost 
whisperin' :  '  I  go  !  I  go  away  1  I  leave  my 
bear  !  If  she  sell  him,  that  pay  everything  !  I 
come  back  no  more — never  1  never  !' 

93 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  I  saw  he  was  goin'  to  scoot,  and  I  made  a 
grab  at  him,  but  he  give  me  a  push  that  nearly 
tore  my  collar  off,  and  away  he  went.  You  never 
see  anybody  run  like  he  run.  He  was  out  of 
sight  in  no  time." 

'"And  he  left  his  bear!"  she  exclaimed,  in 
horror.  "  What  on  earth  am  I  to  do  with  a  bear  ?" 
She  looked  at  me,  and  in  spite  of  her  annoyance 
and  perplexity  she  could  not  help  joining  me 
when  I  laughed  outright. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ORSO 

IRS.    CHESTER    and    I   hurried 
back  to  the  yard.     There  was 
1VT  g^    the  bear,  sitting  calmly  on  his 
haunches,    but    there    was    no 
Italian. 

"  Now  that  his  master  is  gone,"  my  hostess 
exclaimed,  "  I  am  afraid  of  him  !  I  will  not  go 
any  farther  1  Can  you  imagine  anything  that 
can  be  done  with  that  beast?" 

I  had  no  immediate  answer  to  give,  and  I  was 
still  very  much  amused  at  the  absurdity  of  the 
situation.  Had  any  one  ever  before  paid  his  bill 
in  such  fashion?  At  this  moment  the  stable 
man  approached  us  from  one  of  the  outbuild 
ings.  "  This  is  my  hostler,"  she  said.  *  Per 
haps  he  can  suggest  something." 

"  This  is  a  bad  go,  ma'am,"  said  he.     *  The 
horse  was  out  in  the  pasture  all  night,  but  this 
morning  when  I  went  to  bring  him  up  I  couldn't 
95 


A    Bicycle    of    Cathay 

make  him  come  near  the  stable.  He  smells 
that  bear !  It  seems  to  drive  him  crazy  I1' 

"It's  awful!"  she  said.  "What  are  we  going 
to  do,  John  ?  Do  you  think  the  animal  will  be 
come  dangerous  when  he  misses  his  master  ?" 

*  Oh,  there's  nothin'  dangerous  about  him/' 
answered  John.  "I  was  sittin'  talkin'  to  that 
Dago  last  night  after  supper,  and  he  says  his 
bear's  tamer  than  a  cat.  He  is  so  mild-tempered 
that  he  wouldn't  hurt  nobody.  The  Dago  says 
he  sleeps  close  up  to  him  of  cold  nights  to  keep 
himself  warm.  There  ain't  no  trouble  about 
his  bein'  dangerous,  but  you  can't  bring  the 
horse  into  the  stable  while  he's  about.  If  any 
body  was  to  drive  into  this  yard  without  knowin' 
they'd  be  a  circus,  I  can  tell  you  !  Horses  can't 
stand  bears." 

She  looked  at  me  in  dismay.  "Couldn't  he 
be  shot  and  buried?"  she  asked. 

I  had  my  doubts  on  that  point.  A  tame  bear 
is  a  valuable  animal,  and  I  could  not  advise  her 
to  dispose  of  the  property  of  another  person  in 
that  summary  way. 

"  But  he  must  be  got  away,"  she  said.  "  We 
can't  have  a  bear  here.  He  must  be  taken  away 
some  way  or  other.  Isn't  there  any  place  where 
he  could  be  put  until  the  Italian  comes  back  ?" 

96 


Orso 

"  That  Dago's  never  comin'  back/'  said  the  boy, 
solemnly.  "  If  you'd  a-seen  him  scoot,  you'd 
a-knowed  that  he  was  dead  skeered,  and  would 
never  turn  up  here  no  more,  bear  or  no  bear." 

Mrs.  Chester  looked  at  me.  She  was  greatly 
worried,  but  she  was  also  amused,  and  she  could 
not  help  laughing. 

"  Isn't  this  a  dreadful  predicament  ?"  she  said. 
"  What  in  the  world  am  I  to  do?"  At  this  mo 
ment  there  was  an  acidulated  voice  from  the 
kitchen.  "  Mrs.  Whittaker  wants  to  see  you, 
Mrs.  Chester,"  it  cried,  "right  away  !" 

"  Oh,  dear  \"  said  she.  "  Here  is  more  trouble ! 
Mrs.  Whittaker  is  an  invalid  lady  who  is  so  ner 
vous  that  she  could  not  sleep  one  night  because 
she  heard  a  man  had  killed  a  snake  at  the  back 
of  the  barn,  and  what  she  will  say  when  she 
hears  that  we  have  a  bear  here  without  a  master 
I  do  not  know.  I  must  go  to  her,  and  I  do  wish 
you  could  think  of  something  that  I  can  do;" 
as  she  said  this  she  looked  at  me  as  if  it  were  a 
natural  thing  for  her  to  rely  upon  me.  For  a 
moment  it  made  me  think  of  the  star  that  had 
winked  the  night  before. 

Mrs.  Chester  hurried  into  the  house,  and  in 
company  with  the  stable-man  I  crossed  the  yard 
towards  the  bear. 

G  97 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  You  are  sure  he  is  gentle  ?"  said  I. 

"  Mild  as  milk  !"  said  the  man.  "  I  was  a- 
playin'  with  him  last  night.  He'll  let  you  do 
anything  with  him !  If  you  box  his  ears,  he'll 
lay  over  flat  down  on  his  side  1" 

When  we  were  within  a  few  feet  of  the  bear  he 
sat  upright,  dangled  his  fore  paws  in  front  of 
him,  and,  with  his  head  on  one  side,  he  partly 
opened  his  mouth  and  lolled  out  his  tongue.  "  I 
guess  he's  beggin'  for  his  breakfust,"  said  John. 

"  Can't  you  get  him  something  to  eat  ?"  I  asked. 
"  He  ought  to  be  fed,  to  begin  with." 

The  man  went  back  to  the  kitchen,  and  I  walked 
slowly  around  the  bear,  looking  at  the  chain  and 
the  post,  and  trying  to  see  what  sort  of  a  collar 
was  almost  hidden  under  his  shaggy  hair.  Ap 
parently  he  seemed  securely  attached,  and  then 
— as  he  was  at  the  end  of  his  chain — I  went  up 
to  him  and  gently  patted  one  paw.  He  did  not  ob 
ject  to  this,  and  turning  his  head  he  let  his  tongue 
loll  out  on  the  other  side,  fixing  his  little  black 
eyes  upon  me  with  much  earnestness.  When 
the  man  came  with  the  pan  of  scraps  from  the 
kitchen  I  took  it  from  him  and  placed  it  on  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  bear.  Instantly  the  animal 
dropped  to  his  feet  and  began  to  eat  with  earnest 
rapidity. 


Orso 

"  I  wonder  how  much  he'd  take  in  for  one 
meal/'  said  John,  "  if  you'd  give  him  all  he  want 
ed  ?  I  guess  that  Dago  never  let  him  have  any 
more'n  he  could  help." 

As  the  bear  was  licking  the  tin  pan  I  stood 
and  looked  at  him.  *  I  wonder  if  he  would  be 
tame  with  strangers  ?"  said  I.  "Do  you  suppose 
we  could  take  him  away  from  this  post  if  we 
wanted  to?" 

"  Oh  yes/'  said  John.     *  I  wouldn't  be  afraid 
to  take  him  anywheres,  only  there  isn't  any 
place  to  take  him  to."    He  then  stepped  quite 
close   to   the   bear.     "  Hey,   horsey  !"   said   he. 
"  Hey,  old  horsey  !     Good  old  horsey  !" 
*  Is  that  his  name  ?"  I  asked. 
"  That's  what  the  Dago  called  him,"  said  John. 
*  Hey,  horsey  !    Good  horsey  !"   And  he  stooped 
and  unfastened  the  chain  from  the  post. 

I  imagined  that  the  Italian  had  called  the  bear 
"  Orso,"  perhaps  with  some  diminutive,  but  I 
did  not  care  to  discuss  this.  I  was  very  much 
interested  to  see  what  the  man  was  going  to  do. 
With  the  end  of  the  chain  in  his  hand,  John  now 
stepped  in  front  of  the  bear  and  said,  "Come 
along,  horsey  !"  and,  to  my  surprise,  the  bear 
began  to  shamble  after  him  as  quietly  as  if  he 
had  been  following  his  old  master.  *  See !" 
99 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

cried  John.  "  He'll  go  anywheres  I  choose  to 
take  him  \"  and  he  began  to  lead  him  about  the 
yard. 

As  he  approached  the  kitchen  there  came  a 
fearful  scream  from  the  open  window. 

"  Take  him  away  !  Take  him  away  !"  I  heard, 
in  the  shrillest  accents. 

"  They're  dreadfully  skeered,"  said  John,  as 
he  led  the  bear  back ;  "  but  he  wouldn't  hurt  no 
body  !  It  would  be  a  good  thing,  though,  to  put 
his  muzzle  on;  that's  it  hangin'  over  there  by 
the  shed ;  it's  like  a  halter,  and  straps  up  his 
jaws.  The  Dago  said  there  ain't  no  need  for  it, 
but  he  puts  it  on  when  he's  travellin'  along  the 
road  to  keep  people  from  bein'  skeered." 

"  It  would  be  well  to  put  it  on,"  said  I.  "  I 
wonder  if  we  can  get  him  into  it?" 

"  I  guess  he'd  let  you  do  anything  you'd  a 
mind  to,"  replied  John,  as  he  again  fastened  the 
chain  to  the  post. 

I  took  down  the  muzzle  and  approached  the 
bear.  He  did  not  growl,  but  stood  perfectly  still 
and  looked  at  me.  I  put  the  muzzle  over  his 
head,  and,  holding  myself  in  readiness  to  elude 
a  sudden  snap,  I  strapped  up  his  jaws.  The 
creature  made  no  snap — he  gazed  at  me  with 
mild  resignation. 

100 


Orso 

*  As  far  as  he  goes,"  said  John,  "  he's  all  right ; 
but  as  far  as  everything  else  goes — especially 
horses — they're  all  wrong.  He's  got  to  be  got  rid 
of  some  way." 

I  had  nothing  more  to  say  to  John,  and  I  went 
into  the  house.  I  met  Mrs.  Chester  in  the  hall. 

"  I  have  had  a  bad  time  up-stairs,"  she  said. 
"  Mrs.  Whittaker  declares  that  she  will  not  stay 
an  hour  in  a  house  where  there  is  a  bear  without 
a  master ;  but  as  she  has  a  terrible  sciatica  and 
cannot  travel,  I  do  not  know  what  she  is  going  to 
do.  Her  trained  nurse,  I  believe,  is  now  putting 
on  her  bonnet  to  depart." 

As  she  spoke,  the  joyful  anticipation  of  a  few 
days  at  the  Holly  Sprig  Inn  began  to  fade  away. 
I  did  not  blame  the  bear  as  the  present  cause  of 
my  disappointment.  He  had  done  all  he  could 
for  me.  It  was  his  wretched  master  who  had 
done  the  mischief  by  running  away  and  leaving 
him.  But  no  matter  what  had  happened,  I  saw 
my  duty  plainly  before  me.  I  had  not  been  en 
couraged  to  stay,  but  it  is  possible  that  I  might 
have  done  so  without  encouragement,  but  now  I 
saw  that  I  must  go.  The  Fates,  who,  as  I  had 
hoped,  had  compelled  my  stay,  now  compelled 
my  departure. 

"  Do  not  give  yourself  another  thought  upon 
101 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

the  subject/'  I  said.  "I  will  settle  the  whole 
matter,  and  nobody  need  be  frightened  or  dis 
turbed.  The  Cheltenham  Hotel  is  only  a  few 
miles  farther  on,  and  I  shall  have  to  walk  there 
anyway.  I  will  start  immediately  and  take  the 
bear  with  me.  I  am  sure  that  he  will  allow  me 
to  lead  him  wherever  I  please.  I  have  tried  him, 
and  I  find  that  he  is  a  great  deal  gentler  than 
most  children." 

She  exclaimed,  in  horror :  *  You  must  not  think 
of  it !  He  might  spring  upon  you  and  tear  you 
to  pieces  \" 

"  Oh,  he  will  not  do  that,"  I  answered.  "  He 
is  not  that  sort  of  a  bear — and,  besides,  he  is  se 
curely  muzzled.  I  muzzled  him  myself,  and  he 
did  not  mind  it  in  the  least.  Oh,  you  need  not 
be  afraid  of  the  bear;  he  has  had  his  breakfast 
and  he  is  in  perfect  good-humor  with  the  world. 
It  will  not  take  me  long  to  reach  the  hotel,  and 
I  shall  enjoy  the  walk,  and  when  I  get  there  I 
will  be  sure  to  find  some  shed  or  out-house  where 
the  beast  can  be  shut  up  until  it  can  be  decided 
what  to  do  with  him.  I  can  leave  him  there  and 
have  him  legally  advertised,  and  then — if  noth 
ing  else  can  be  done — he  can  be  shot.  I  shall 
be  very  glad  to  have  his  skin;  it  will  be  worth 
enough  to  cover  his  bill  here,  and  the  damages 
102 


Orso 

to  my  bicycle.  I  shall  send  for  that  as  soon  as 
I  reach  the  hotel.  I  can  go  to  Waterton  by  train 
and  take  it  with  me.  I  can  have  it  made  all  right 
in  Waterton.  So  now,  you  see,  I  have  settled 
everything  satisfactorily." 

She  looked  at  me  earnestly,  and,  although 
there  was  a  certain  solicitude  in  her  gaze,  I  could 
also  see  there  signs  of  great  relief.  "  But  isn't 
there  some  other  way  of  getting  that  bear  to  the 
hotel  ?"  she  said.  "  It  will  be  dreadful  for  you 
to  have  to  walk  there  and  lead  him." 

*  It's  the  only  way  to  do  it,"  I  answered.  "  You 
could  not  hitch  a  bear  behind  a  wagon — the 
horse  would  run  away  and  jerk  his  head  off.  The 
only  way  to  take  a  bear  about  the  country  is  to 
lead  him,  and  I  do  not  mind  it  in  the  least.  As 
I  have  got  to  go  without  my  bicycle  I  would  like 
to  have  some  sort  of  company.  Anyway,  the 
bear  must  go,  and  as  I  am  on  the  road  to  the 
Cheltenham  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  take  him 
along  with  me." 

"  I  think  you  are  wonderfully  brave,"  she  said, 
"  and  very  good.  If  I  can  persuade  myself  it 
will  be  perfectly  safe  for  you,  it  will  certainly  be 
a  great  relief  to  me." 

I  was  now  engaged  in  a  piece  of  self-sacrifice, 
and  I  felt  that  I  must  do  it  thoroughly  and  prompt- 
103 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

ly.     "  I  will  go  and  get  my  valise,"  I  said,  "  for 
I  ought  to  start  immediately." 

"  Oh,  I  will  send  that !"  she  exclamied. 

"  No,"  I  answered  ;  "  it  does  not  weigh  any 
thing,  and  I  can  sling  it  over  my  shoulder.  By- 
the-way,"  I  said,  turning  as  I  was  about  to  leave 
the  room,  "  I  have  forgotten  something."  I 
put  my  hand  into  my  pocket;  it  would  not  do 
to  forget  that  I  was,  after  all,  only  a  departing 
guest. 

"  No,  no,"  she  replied,  quickly,  "  I  am  your 
debtor.  When  you  find  out  how  much  damage 
you  have  suffered,  and  what  is  to  be  done  with 
the  bear,  all  that  can  be  settled.  You  can  write 
to  me,  but  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it  now." 

With  my  valise  over  my  shoulder  I  returned 
to  the  hall  to  take  leave  of  my  hostess.  Now 
she  seemed  somewhat  contrite.  Fate  and  she 
had  conquered,  I  was  going  away,  and  she  was 
sorry  for  me. 

"  I  think  it  is  wonderfully  good  of  you  to  do 
all  this,"  she  said.  "  I  wish  I  could  do  some 
thing  for  you." 

I  would  have  been  glad  to  suggest  that  she 

might  ask  me  to  come  again,  and  it  would  also 

have  pleased  me  to  say  that  I  did  not  believe 

that  her  husband,  if  he  could  express  his  opinion, 

104 


Orso 

would  commend  her  apparent  inhospitality  to 
his  successor.  But  I  made  no  such  remarks, 
and  offered  my  hand,  which  she  cordially  clasped 
as  if  I  were  an  old  friend  and  were  going  away 
to  settle  in  the  Himalayas. 

I  went  into  the  yard  to  get  Orso.  He  was  lying 
down  when  I  approached  him,  but  I  think  he 
knew  from  my  general  appearance  that  I  was 
prepared  to  take  the  road,  and  he  rose  to  his  feet 
as  much  as  to  say,  "  I  am  ready."  I  unfastened 
the  chain  from  the  post,  and,  with  the  best  of 
wishes  for  good-luck  from  John,  who  now  seemed 
to  be  very  well  satisfied  with  me,  I  walked  around 
the  side  of  the  house,  the  bear  following  as  sub 
missively  as  if  he  had  been  used  to  my  leadership 
all  his  life. 

I  did  not  see  the  boy  nor  the  lemon-faced  wom 
an,  and  I  was  glad  of  it.  I  believe  they  would 
have  cast  evil  eyes  upon  me,  and  there  is  no 
knowing  what  that  bear  might  have  done  in  con 
sequence. 

Mrs.  Chester  was  standing  in  the  door  as  I 
reached  the  road.  "Good-bye!"  she  cried,  "and 
good  fortune  go  with  you  \"  I  raised  my  hat, 
and  gave  Orso  a  little  jerk  with  the  chain. 


CHAPTER   IX 

A  RUNAWAY 

JE  was  a  very  slow  walker,  that 
bear.  If  I  had  been  alone  I 
would  have  been  out  of  sight  of 
the  inn  in  less  than  five  min 
utes.  As  it  was,  I  looked  back 
after  a  considerable  time  to  see  if  I  really  were 
out  of  sight  of  the  house,  and  I  found  I  was  not. 
She  was  still  standing  in  the  doorway,  and  when 
I  turned  she  waved  her  handkerchief.  Now  that 
I  had  truly  left  and  was  gone,  she  seemed  to 
be  willing  to  let  me  know  better  than  before 
what  a  charming  woman  she  was.  I  took  off 
my  hat  again  and  pressed  forward. 

For  a  couple  of  miles,  perhaps,  I  walked  thought 
fully,  and  I  do  not  believe  I  once  thought  of  the 
bear  shambling  silently  behind  me.  I  had  been 
dreaming  a  day-dream — not  building  a  castle 
in  the  air,  for  I  had  seen  before  me  a  castle  al 
ready  built.  I  had  simply  been  dreaming  my- 
106 


A  Runaway 

self  into  it,  into  its  life,  into  its  possessions,  into 
the  possession  of  everything  which  belonged  to  it. 

It  had  been  a  fascinating  vision.  It  had  suited 
my  fancy  better  than  any  vision  of  the  future 
which  I  had  ever  had.  I  was  not  ambitious; 
I  loved  the  loveliness  of  life.  I  was  a  student, 
and  I  had  a  dream  of  life  which  would  not  inter 
fere  with  the  society  of  my  books.  I  loved  all 
rural  pleasures,  and  I  had  dreamed  of  a  life  where 
these  were  spread  out  ready  for  my  enjoyment. 
I  was  a  man  formed  to  love,  and  there  had  come 
to  me  dreams  of  this  sort  of  thing. 

My  dreams  had  even  taken  practical  shape. 
As  I  was  dressing  myself  that  morning  I  had 
puzzled  my  brain  to  find  a  pretext  for  taking 
the  first  step,  which  would  be  to  remain  a  few 
days  at  the  inn. 

The  pretext  for  doing  this  had  appeared  to  me. 
For  a  moment  I  had  snatched  at  it  and  shown  my 
joy,  and  then  it  had  utterly  disappeared  —  the 
vision,  the  fancy,  the  anticipations,  the  plans,  the 
vine-covered  home  in  the  air,  all  were  destroyed 
as  completely  as  if  it  had  been  the  tire  of  my  bi 
cycle  scattered  about  in  little  bits  upon  the 
ground. 

"  Come  along,  old  Orso !"  I  exclaimed,  endeavor 
ing  to  mend  my  pace,  and  giving  the  bear  a  good 
107 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

pull  upon  his  chain.  But  the  ugly  creature  did 
not  walk  any  faster ;  he  simply  looked  at  me  with 
an  air  as  if  he  would  say  that  if  I  kept  long  upon 
the  road  I  would  learn  to  take  it  easy,  and  main 
tained  the  deliberate  slouch  of  his  demeanor. 

Presently  I  stopped,  and  Orso  was  very  willing 
to  imitate  me  in  that  action.  I  found,  to  my 
surprise,  that  I  was  not  walking  upon  a  mac 
adamized  road :  such  was  the  highway  which 
passed  the  inn  and  led,  I  had  been  told,  to  the 
Cheltenham.  I  was  now  upon  a  road  of  gravel 
and  clay,  smooth  enough  and  wide  enough, 
but  of  a  different  character  from  that  on  which  I 
had  started  that  morning.  I  looked  about  me. 
Across  a  field  to  my  left  I  saw  a  line  of  trees  which 
seemed  to  indicate  a  road.  I  had  a  dim  recollec 
tion  of  having  passed  a  road  which  seemed  to 
turn  to  the  left,  but  I  had  been  thinking  very 
earnestly,  and  had  paid  little  attention  to  it. 
Probably  that  road  was  the  main  road  and  this 
the  one  which  turned  off. 

I  determined  to  investigate.  It  would  not  do 
to  wander  out  of  my  way  with  my  present  en 
cumbrance.  It  was  now  somewhat  after  noon ; 
the  country  people  were  eating  their  dinners  or 
engaged  about  their  barns ;  there  was  nobody 
upon  the  road.  At  some  distance  ahead  of  me 
108 


TO    MY   LtFl    I    SAW    A   LINE    OF   TREES 


A  Runaway 

was  a  small  house  standing  well  back  behind 
a  little  group  of  trees,  and  I  decided  to  go  there 
and  make  inquiries.  And  as  it  would  not  do  at 
all  to  throw  a  rural  establishment  into  a  state  of 
wild  confusion  by  leading  a  bear  up  to  its  door, 
I  conducted  Orso  to  the  side  of  the  road  and 
chained  him  to  a  fence-post.  He  was  perfectly 
satisfied  and  lay  down,  his  nose  upon  his  fore- 
paws. 

I  found  three  women  in  the  little  house.  They 
were  in  a  side  kitchen  eating  their  dinner,  and  I 
wondered  what  the  bear  would  have  done  if  he 
had  smelled  that  dinner.  They  told  me  that  I  was 
not  on  the  main  road,  and  would  have  to  go  back 
more  than  half  a  mile  in  order  to  regain  it. 

When  I  was  out  on  the  road  again  I  said  to  my 
self  that  if  I  could  possibly  make  Orso  step  along 
at  a  little  more  lively  pace  I  might  get  to  the  hotel 
in  time  for  a  very  late  luncheon,  and  I  was  begin 
ning  to  think  that  I  had  not  been  wise  in  declin 
ing  portable  refreshment,  when  I  heard  a  noise 
ahead  of  me.  At  a  considerable  distance  along 
the  road,  and  not  far  from  where  I  had  left  the 
bear,  I  saw  a  horse  attached  to  a  vehicle  approach 
ing  me  at  a  furious  speed.  He  was  running 
away  !  The  truth  flashed  upon  me — he  had 
been  frightened  by  Orso  ! 
109 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

I  ran  a  few  steps  towards  the  approaching 
horse.  His  head  was  high  in  the  air,  and  the 
vehicle  swayed  from  side  to  side.  It  was  a  tall 
affair  with  two  wheels,  and  on  the  high  seat  sat 
a  lady  vainly  tugging  at  the  reins.  My  heart 
sank.  What  dreadful  thing  had  I  done  ! 

I  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  road.  It  seemed 
but  a  few  seconds  before  the  horse  was  upon  me. 
He  swerved  to  one  side,  but  I  was  ready  for  that. 
I  dashed  at  his  bridle,  but  caught  the  end  of  his 
cumbrous  bit  in  my  right  hand.  I  leaned  forward 
with  all  the  strength  that  dwelt  in  my  muscles 
and  nerves.  The  horse's  glaring  eye  was  over 
my  face,  and  I  felt  the  round  end  of  a  shaft  rise 
up  under  my  arm.  A  pair  of  outstretched  fore 
legs  slid  past  me.  I  saw  the  end  of  a  banged  tail 
switching  in  the  dust.  The  horse  was  on  his 
haunches.  He  was  stopped. 

Before  I  had  time  to  recover  an  erect  attitude 
and  to  let  up  the  horse  the  occupant  of  the  vehicle 
was  on  the  ground  She  had  skipped  down 
with  wonderful  alacrity  on  the  side  opposite  to  me, 
and  was  coming  round  by  the  back  of  the  cart. 
The  horse  was  now  standing  on  his  four  legs, 
trembling  in  every  fibre,  and  with  eyes  that  were 
still  wild  and  staring  Holding  him  firmly,  I 
faced  the  lady  as  she  stopped  near  me.  She 
no 


A   Runaway 

was  a  young  woman  in  a  jaunty  summer  costume 
and  a  round  straw  hat.  She  did  not  seem  to  be 
quite  mistress  of  herself ;  she  was  not  pale,  but 
perhaps  that  was  because  her  face  was  somewhat 
browned  by  the  sun,  but  her  step  was  not  steady, 
and  she  breathed  hard.  Under  ordinary  circum 
stances  she  would  have  been  assisted  to  the  side 
of  the  road,  where  she  might  sit  down  and  re 
cover  herself,  and  have  water  brought  to  her. 
But  I  could  do  nothing  of  that  sort.  1  could  not 
leave  that  shivering  horse. 

"Are  you  hurt?"  I  asked. 

"  Oh  no,"  she  said,  *  but  I  am  shaken  up  a  bit. 
I  cannot  tell  you  how  grateful  I  ami  I  don't 
believe  I  ever  can  tell  you  !" 

"  Do  not  speak  of  that."  I  said,  quickly.  *  Per 
haps  you  would  feel  better  if  you  were  to  sit 
down  somewhere." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  want  to  sit  down,"  said  she.  "  I 
am  so  glad  to  have  my  feet  on  the  solid  earth 
again  that  that  is  enough  for  me.  It  was  a  bear 
that  frightened  him — a  bear  lying  down  by  the 
side  of  the  road  a  little  way  back.  He  never  ran 
away  before,  but  when  he  saw  that  bear  he  gave 
a  great  shy  and  a  bolt,  and  he  was  off.  I  just  got 
a  glimpse  of  the  beast." 

I  was  very  anxious  to  change  the  conversation, 
in 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

and  suggested  that  I  lead  the  horse  into  the  shade, 
for  the  sun  was  blazing  down  upon  us.  The 
horse  submitted  to  be  led  to  the  side  of  the  road, 
but  he  was  very  nervous,  and  looked  everywhere 
for  the  approach  of  shaggy  bears. 

"  It  is  perfectly  dreadful,"  she  said,  when  she 
again  approached  me.  "  for  people  to  leave  bears 
about  in  that  way.  I  suppose  he  was  fastened, 
for  it  could  not  have  been  a  wild  beast.  They 
do  not  lie  down  by  the  side  of  the  road.  I  do  not 
say  that  I  was  rattled,  but  I  expected  every  second 
that  there  would  be  a  smash,  and  there  would 
have  been  if  it  had  not  been  for — " 

"  It  is  a  wonder  you  were  not  thrown  out,"  I 
interrupted,  "  those  carts  are  so  tall." 

*  Yes,"  she  answered,  "  and  if  I  hadn't  slipped 
off  the  driving-cushion  at  the  first  shy  I  would 
have  been  out  sure.  I  never  had  anything  hap 
pen  like  this,  but  who  could  have  expected  a  great 
bear  by  the  side  of  the  road  ?" 

"  Have  you  far  to  go  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Not  very — about  three  miles.  I  made  a  Call 
this  morning  on  the  other  road,  and  was  driving 
home.  My  name  is  Miss  Larramie.  My  father's 
place  is  on  this  road.  He  is  Henry  Esmond 
Larramie."  I  had  heard  of  the  gentleman,  but 
had  never  met  him.  "  I  am  not  afraid  of  horses," 
112 


A   Runaway 

she  continued,  "  but  I  do  not  know  about  driving 
this  one  now.  He  looks  as  if  he  were  all  ready 
to  bolt  again." 

a  Oh,  it  would  not  do  for  you  to  drive  him/'  I 
said.  "  That  would  be  extremely  risky." 

*  1  might  walk  home,"  she  said,  "  but  I  could 
not  leave  the  horse." 

"  Let  me  think  a  minute, "  said  I.  Then  presently 
I  asked, "  Will  this  horse  stand  if  he  is  hitched  ?" 

"  Oh  yes/'  she  answered ;  "  I  always  hitch  him 
when  1  make  calls.  There  is  a  big  strap  under 
the  seat  which  goes  around  his  neck,  and  then 
through  a  ring  in  his  bit.  He  has  to  stand — he 
can't  get  away." 

"  Very  well,  then/'  said  I ;  "  I  will  tell  you  what 
I  will  do.  I  will  tie  him  to  this  tree.  I  think  he 
is  quieter,  and  if  you  will  stand  by  him  and  talk 
to  him — he  knows  you  ?" 

u  Oh  yes,"  she  answered,  "  and  I  can  feed  him 
with  grass.  But  why  do  you  want  to  tie  him? 
What  are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

As  she  spoke  she  brought  me  the  tie  strap,  and 
I  proceeded  to  fasten  the  horse  to  a  tree. 

"  Now,  then,"  said  I,  "  I  must  go  and  get  the 
bear  and  take  him  away  somewhere  out  of  sight. 
It  will  never  do  to  leave  him  there.     Some  other 
horse  might  be  coming  along." 
H  113 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  You  get  the  bear  1"  she  said,  surprised. 

*  Yes/'  I  answered ;  "  he  is  my  bear,  and — " 

She  stepped  back,  her  eyes  expanded  and  her 
lower  jaw  dropped.  "  Your  bear !"  she  cried,  and 
with  that  her  glance  seemed  to  run  all  over  me  as 
if  she  were  trying  to  find  some  resemblance  to 
a  man  who  exhibited  a  bear. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied  ;  "  I  left  him  there  while  I 
went  to  ask  my  way.  It  was  a  dreadful  thing  to 
do,  but  I  must  leave  him  there  no  longer.  I  will 
tell  you  all  about  it  when  I  come  back." 

I  had  decided  upon  a  plan  of  action.  I  ran 
down  the  road  to  the  bear,  took  down  some  bars 
of  the  fence,  and  then,  untying  him,  I  led  him 
over  a  field  to  a  patch  of  woodland.  Orso  shuffled 
along  humbly  as  if  it  did  not  make  any  difference 
to  him  where  he  went,  and  when  I  reached  the 
woods  I  entered  it  by  an  old  cart-road,  and  soon 
struck  off  to  one  side  among  some  heavy  under 
brush.  Finding  a  spot  where  it  would  be  im 
possible  for  the  beast  to  be  seen  from  the  road,  I 
fastened  him  securely  to  a  tree.  He  looked  after 
me  regretfully,  and  I  think  I  heard  him  whine, 
but  I  am  not  sure  of  that.  I  hurried  back  to  the 
road,  replaced  the  bars,  and  very  soon  had  joined 
the  young  lady. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  never  in  this  world  would  I 
114 


A   Runaway 

have  thought  that  was  your  bear  !  But  what 
is  to  be  done  now  ?  This  horse  gave  a  jump  as 
soon  as  he  heard  you  running  this  way." 

"  Now/'  said  I,  "  I  will  drive  you  to  your  house, 
or,  if  you  are  afraid,  you  can  walk,  and  I  will  take 
him  home  for  you  if  you  will  give  me  the  direc 
tions." 

"  Oh,  I  am  not  a  bit  afraid,"  she  said.  a  I  am 
sure  you  can  manage  him — you  seem  to  be  able  to 
manage  animals.  But  will  not  this  be  a  great 
inconvenience  to  you  ?  Are  you  going  this  way? 
And  won't  you  have  to  come  back  after  your 
bear?  I  can't  believe  that  you  are  really  lead 
ing  a  bear  about." 

I  laughed  as  I  unfastened  the  horse.  "  It  will 
not  take  me  long  to  come  back/'  I  said.  *  Now, 
I  will  get  in  first,  and,  when  I  have  him  prop 
erly  in  hand,  you  can  mount  on  the  other 
side." 

The  young  lady  appeared  to  have  entirely  re 
covered  from  the  effects  of  her  fright,  and  was 
by  rny  side  in  a  moment.  The  horse  danced  a 
little  as  we  started  and  tried  to  look  behind  him, 
but  he  soon  felt  that  he  was  under  control,  and 
trotted  off  finely. 

I  now  thought  that  I  ought  to  tell  her  who  I  was, 
for  I  did  not  want  to  be  taken  for  a  travelling 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

showman,  although  I  really  did  not  suppose  that 
she  would  make  such  a  mistake. 

"So  you  are  the  school-master  at  Walford!" 
said  she.  "  I  have  heard  about  you.  Little  Billy 
Marshall  is  one  of  your  scholars." 

I  admitted  that  he  was,  and  that  I  was  afraid  he 
did  not  do  me  very  much  credit. 

*  Perhaps  not/'  she  said,  "  but  he  is  a  good  boy. 
His  mother  sometimes  works  for  us;  she  does 
quite  heavy  jobs  of  sewing,  and  Billy  brings 
them  up  by  train.  He  was  here  a  little  more  than 
a  week  ago,  and  I  asked  him  how  he  was  getting 
on  at  school,  and  if  he  had  a  good  teacher,  and  he 
said  the  man  was  pretty  good.  But  I  want  to 
know  about  the  bear.  How  in  the  world  did  you 
happen  to  be  leading  a  bear  ?" 

I  related  the  ursine  incident,  which  amused 
her  very  much,  and,  as  she  was  a  wheelwoman 
herself,  she  commiserated  with  me  sincerely  on 
the  damage  to  my  machine. 

"So  you  stopped  at  the  Holly  Sprig?"  she 
said.  "  And  how  did  you  like  the  mistress  of  that 
little  inn  ?" 

I  replied  that  I  had  found  her  very  interesting. 

"  Yes,  she  is  an  interesting  woman,"  said  my 
companion,  "  and  a  very  pretty  one,  too.  Some 
people  wonder  why  she  continues  to  keep  the  inn, 
116 


A   Runaway 

but  perhaps  she  has  to.     You  know,  her  hus 
band  was  murdered." 

"  No,  I  did  not !"  I  exclaimed,  in  surprise.  "  I 
knew  he  was  not  living — but  murdered  !  That 
is  dreadful  !  How  did  that  happen  ?" 

"  Nobody  knows,"  she  answered.  "  They  had 
not  been  married  very  long — I  do  not  know  how 
long — when  he  was  killed.  He  went  to  New 
York  on  business  by  himself,  and  did  not  come 
back.  They  were  searching  for  him  days  and 
days — ever  so  long,  and  they  could  find  no  clew. 
At  last — it  may  have  been  a  month  afterwards — or 
perhaps  it  was  more — it  was  found  that  he  had 
been  murdered.  His  body  had  been  discovered, 
and  was  supposed  to  be  that  of  somebody  else, 
and  had  been  buried  in  whatever  place  the  au 
thorities  buried  people  in  such  cases.  Then  it 
was  too  late  to  get  it  or  to  identify  it,  or  to  do 
anything.  Wasn't  that  perfectly  awful  ?" 

This  story  gave  me  a  peculiar  shock.  I  could 
not  have  imagined  that  that  charming  and  ap 
parently  light-hearted  young  woman  at  the 
Holly  Sprig  had  ever  been  crushed  down  by  such 
a  sorrow  as  this.  But  I  did  not  ask  any  more 
questions.  The  young  girl  by  my  side  probably 
knew  no  more  than  she  had  already  told  me. 
Besides,  I  did  not  want  to  hear  any  more. 
117 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

" '  Royal '  goes  along  just  as  if  nothing  had 
happened,"  she  said,  admiringly  regarding  the 
horse.  "  Now,  I  wonder  if  it  will  be  safe  for  me 
to  drive  him  again  ?" 

*  I  should  be  very  sorry,"  I  answered,  "  if  my 
thoughtlessness  had  rendered  him  unsafe  for  you ; 
but  if  he  could  be  led  up  and  down  past  the  place 
where  he  saw  the  bear  until  he  becomes  con 
vinced  that  there  is  now  nothing  dreadful  in  that 
spot,  he  may  soon  be  all  right  again." 

"  Do  you  know,"  she  said,  suddenly  turning 
towards  me,  *  what  I  would  like  better  than  any 
thing  else  in  this  world  ?  I  would  like  to  be  able 
to  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  road  and  stop  a  horse 
as  you  did  !" 

I  laughed  and  assured  her  that  I  knew  there 
were  a  great  many  things  in  the  world  which 
it  would  be  much  better  for  her  to  do  than  that. 

"  Nothing  would  please  me  so  much,"  she  said, 
decisively,  *  not  one  single,  solitary  thing !  There's 
our  gate.  Turn  in  here,  please. " 

I  drove  up  a  winding  road  which  led  to  a  house 
standing  among  trees  on  a  slight  elevation. 
"  Please  let  me  out  here,"  she  said,  when  I  reach 
ed  the  end  of  the  porch.  *  I  will  send  a  man 
to  take  the  horse." 


CHAPTER  X 


the  cart 
road.     I 


THE  LARRAMIE  FAMILY 

THINK  I  did  not  have  to  wait  ten 
seconds  after  her  departure,  for 
a  stable-man  had  seen  us  ap 
proach  and  immediately  came 
forward.  I  jumped  down  from 
and  looked  in  the  direction  of  the 
thought  if  I  were  to  make  a  cross 
cut  over  the  lawn  and  some  adjacent  fields  I 
should  get  back  to  my  bear  much  quicker  than 
if  I  returned  the  way  I  had  come.  But  this 
thought  had  scarcely  shaped  itself  in  my  mind 
When  I  heard  the  approach  of  hurrying  feet,  and 
in  the  next  moment  a  little  army  had  thrown  it 
self  upon  me. 

There  was  a  tall,  bright-faced  man,  with  side 
whiskers  and  a  flowing  jacket,  who  came  for 
ward  with  long  steps  and  outstretched  hand  ; 
there  was  a  lady  behind  him,  with  little  curls  on 
the  side  of  her  head  ;  and  there  were  some  boys 
119 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

and  girls  and  other  people.  And  nearly  in  front 
of  the  whole  of  them  was  the  young  lady  I  had 
brought  to  the  house.  Each  one  of  them  seized 
me  by  the  hand ;  each  one  of  them  told  me  what  a 
great  thing  I  had  done ;  each  of  them  thanked  me 
from  the  bottom  of  his  or  her  heart  for  saving  the 
life  of  his  or  her  daughter  or  sister,  and  not  one  of 
them  gave  me  a  chance  to  say  that  as  I  had  done 
all  the  mischief  I  could  not  be  too  thankful  that  1 
had  been  able  to  avert  evil  consequences.  From 
the  various  references  to  the  details  of  the  inci 
dent  I  concluded  that  the  young  lady  had  dashed 
into  the  house  and  had  given  a  full  account  of 
everything  which  had  happened  in  less  time  than 
it  would  have  taken  me  to  arrange  my  ideas  for 
such  a  recital. 

As  soon  as  I  could  get  a  chance  I  thanked  them 
all  for  their  gracious  words,  and  said  that  as  I 
was  in  a  hurry  I  must  take  my  leave.  There 
upon  arose  a  hubbub  of  voices.  "  Not  at  din 
ner-time  \"  exclaimed  Mr.  Larramie.  "  We  would 
never  listen  to  such  a  thing  1" 

"  And  you  need  not  trouble  yourself  about  your 
bear/'  cried  my  young  lady,  whose  Christian 
name  I  soon  discovered  to  be  Edith.  "  He  can 
live  on  barks  and  roots  until  we  have  time  to  at 
tend  to  him.  He  is  used  to  that  in  his  native  wilds. " 
120 


The   Larramie   Family 

Now  everybody  wanted  to  know  everything 
about  the  bear,  and  great  was  the  hilarity  which 
my  account  occasioned. 

"  Come  in  !  Come  in  1*  exclaimed  Mr.  Larra 
mie.  "  The  bear  will  be  all  right  if  you  tied  him 
well.  You  have  just  time  to  get  ready  for  din 
ner."  And  noticing  a  glance  I  had  given  to  my 
garments,  he  continued  :  "  You  need  not  bother 
about  your  clothes.  We  are  all  in  field  costume. 
Oh,  1  did  not  see  you  had  a  valise.  Now,  hurry 
in,  all  of  you  !" 

That  dinner  was  a  most  lively  meal.  Every 
body  seemed  to  be  talking  at  once,  yet  they  all 
found  time  to  eat.  The  father  talked  so  much 
that  his  daughter  Edith  took  the  carving-fork 
from  him  and  served  out  the  mutton-chops  her 
self.  The  mother,  from  the  other  end  of  the 
table,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  continually  asked 
me  if  I  would  not  have  something  or  other,  and 
how  I  could  ever  screw  up  my  courage  to  go 
about  with  an  absolutely  strange  bear. 

There  was  a  young  man,  apparently  the  oldest 
son,  with  a  fine,  frank  manner  and  very  broad 
shoulders.  He  was  so  wonderfully  developed 
about  the  bust  that  he  seemed  almost  deformed, 
his  breast  projecting  so  far  that  it  gave  him  the 
appearance  of  being  round-shouldered  in  front. 

121 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

This,  my  practised  eye  told  me,  was  the  result 
of  undue  exercise  in  the  direction  of  chest-expan 
sion.  He  was  a  good-natured  fellow,  and  over 
looked  my  not  answering  several  of  his  questions, 
owing  to  the  evident  want  of  opportunity  to  do  so. 

There  was  a  yellow-haired  girl  with  a  long 
plait  down  her  back ;  there  was  a  half -grown 
boy,  wearing  a  blue  calico  shirt  with  a  red  cra 
vat  ;  there  was  a  small  girl  who  sat  by  her 
mother ;  and  there  was  a  young  lady,  very  up 
right  and  slender,  who  did  not  seem  to  belong  to 
the  family,  for  she  never  used  the  words  "  father  " 
and  "  mother/1  which  were  continually  in  the 
mouths  of  the  others.  This  young  lady  talked 
incessantly,  and  fired  her  words  after  the  man 
ner  of  a  Gatling  gun,  without  taking  aim  at  any 
body  in  particular.  Sometimes  she  may  have 
been  talking  to  me,  but,  as  she  did  not  direct  her 
gaze  towards  me  on  such  occasions,  I  did  not  feel 
bound  to  consider  any  suppositions  in  regard  to 
the  matter. 

I,  of  course,  was  the  principal  object  of  gen 
eral  attention.  They  wanted  to  know  what  I 
really  thought  of  Billy  Marshall  as  a  scholar. 
They  wanted  to  know  if  I  would  have  some  more. 
They  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  had  any  previous 
experience  with  bears.  The  father  asked  which 
122 


WOULD   IT  BE   EASIER  TO   MANAGE  A  BOY  OR  A  BEAR  ?' 


The   Larramie   Family 

I  thought  it  would  be  easier  to  manage,  a  boy  or 
a  bear.  The  boy  Percy  wanted  to  know  how  I 
placed  my  feet  when  I  stood  up  in  front  of  a  run 
away  horse.  Others  asked  if  I  intended  to  go 
back  to  my  school  at  Walford,  and  how  I  liked 
the  village,  and  if  I  were  president  of  the  literary 
society  there,  which  Mrs.  Larramie  thought  I 
ought  to  be,  on  account  of  my  scholastic  position. 

But  before  the  meal  was  over  the  bear  had 
come  to  be  the  absorbing  subject  of  conversation. 
I  was  asked  my  plans  about  him,  and  they  were 
all  disapproved. 

"  It  would  be  of  no  use  to  take  him  to  the  Chel 
tenham,"  said  Walter,  the  oldest  son.  "  They 
couldn't  keep  him  there.  They  have  too  many 
horses — a  livery-stable.  They  wouldn't  let  you 
come  on  the  place  with  him." 

"Of  course  not,"  said  Mr.  Larramie.  "And, 
besides,  why  should  you  take  him  there  ?  It 
would  be  a  poor  place  anyway.  They  wouldn't 
keep  him  until  his  owner  turned  up.  They 
wouldn't  have  anything  to  do  with  him.  What 
you  want  to  do  is  to  bring  your  bear  here.  We 
have  a  hay-barn  out  in  the  fields.  He  could 
sleep  in  the  hay,  and  we  could  give  him  a  long 
chain  so  that  he  could  have  a  nice  range." 

The  younger  members  of  the  family  were  de- 
123 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

lighted  with  this  suggestion.  Nothing  would 
please  them  better  than  to  have  a  bear  on  the 
place.  Each  one  of  them  was  ready  to  take  en 
tire  charge  of  it,  and  Percy  declared  that  he 
would  go  into  the  woods  and  hunt  for  wild-bee 
honey  with  which  to  feed  it.  Even  Mrs.  Larra- 
mie  assured  me  that  if  a  bear  were  well  chained, 
at  a  suitable  distance,  she  would  have  no  fears 
whatever  of  it. 

I  accepted  the  proposition,  for  I  was  glad  to 
get  rid  of  the  animal  in  a  wray  which  would  please 
so  many  people,  and  after  dinner  was  over,  and 
I  had  smoked  a  cigar  with  my  host  and  his  son 
Walter,  I  said  that  it  was  time  for  me  to  go  and 
get  the  bear. 

"  But  you  won't  go  by  the  main  road,"  said 
Mr.  Larramie.  "That  makes  a  great  curve  be 
low  here  to  avoid  a  hill.  If  I  understood  you 
properly,  you  left  the  bear  not  far  from  a  small 
house  inhabited  by  three  women  ?" 

"  They're  the  McKenna  sisters/'  added  Walter. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  father,  "  and  their  house  is  not 
more  than  two  miles  from  here  by  a  field  road.  I 
will  go  with  you." 

I  exclaimed  that  I  would  not  put  him  to  so 
much  trouble,  but  my  words  were  useless.  The 
Walter  son  declared  that  he  would  go  also,  that 
124 


The   Larramie   Family 

he  would  like  the  walk ;  the  Percy  son  declared 
he  was  going  if  anybody  went ;  and  Genevieve, 
the  girl  with  the  yellow  plait,  said  that  she  wished 
she  were  a  boy  so  that  she  could  go  too,  and  she 
wished  she  could  go  anyway,  boy  or  no  boy,  and 
as  her  father  said  that  there  was  no  earthly  rea 
son  why  she  should  not  go,  she  ran  for  her  hat. 

Miss  Edith  looked  as  if  she  would  like  to  go, 
but  she  did  not  say  so ;  and,  as  for  me,  I  agreed 
to  every  proposition.  It  would  certainly  be  great 
fun  to  do  things  with  this  lively  household. 

We  started  off  without  the  boy,  but  it  was  not 
long  before  he  came  running  after  us,  and  to  my 
horror  I  perceived  that  he  carried  a  rifle. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that,  Percy  ?" 
exclaimed  his  father. 

"  I  don't  expect  to  do  anything  with  it,"  the  boy 
replied,  "  but  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good  thing 
to  bring  it  along — especially  as  Gene  vie  ve  is  with 
us.  Nobody  knows  what  might  happen." 

*  That's  true,"  exclaimed  Walter,  "  and  the  fact 
that  Genevieve  is  along  is  the  best  reason  in  the 
world  for  your  not  bringing  a  gun.  You  better 
go  take  it  back." 

To  this  Percy  strongly  objected.  He  was  go 
ing  out  on  a  sort  of  a  bear-hunt,  and  to  him  half 
the  pleasure  would  be  lost  if  he  did  not  carry  a 
125 


A  mcycle    of  Cathay 

gun.  I  am  not  a  coward,  but  a  boy  with  a  gun 
is  a  terror  to  me.  My  expression  may  have  in 
timated  my  state  of  mind,  for  Mr.  Larramie  said 
to  me  that  we  had  now  gone  so  far  that  it  would 
be  a  pity  to  send  Percy  back,  and  that  he  did  not 
think  there  would  be  any  danger,  for  his  boy  had 
been  taught  how  to  carry  a  gun  properly. 

"  We  are  all  out-of-door  people  and  sportsmen," 
he  said,  "and  we  begin  early.  But  I  suppose 
what  you  are  thinking  about  is  the  danger  of 
some  of  us  ending  soon.  But  we  need  not  be 
afraid  of  that.  Walk  in  front,  Percy,  and  keep 
the  barrel  pointed  downward." 

When  we  came  in  sight  of  the  house  of  the 
three  McKennas,  Walter  proposed  that  we  make 
a  devour  towards  the  woods.  "For,"  said  he, 
"  if  those  good  women  see  a  party  like  this  with 
a  gun  among  them,  they  will  be  sure  to  think  it 
is  a  case  of  escaped  criminal,  or  something  of 
that  kind,  and  be  frightened  out  of  their  wits." 

We  skirted  the  edge  of  the  trees  until  we  came 
to  the  opening  of  the  wood  road,  which  I  recog 
nized  immediately,  and,  asking  Percy  and  the 
others  to  keep  back,  I  went  on  by  myself. 

"  I  don't  think  people  would  frighten  that  sort 
of  a  bear,"  I  heard  Genevieve  say.  "  He  must  be 
used  to  crowds  around  him  when  he's  dancing." 
126 


The   Larramie   Family 

I  presently  reached  the  place  where  I  had  turn 
ed  from  the  road.  It  was  a  natural  break  in  the 
woods.  There  was  the  tree  to  which  I  had  tied 
the  bear,  but  there  was  no  bear. 

I  stood  aghast,  and  in  a  moment  the  rest  of  the 
party  were  clustered  around  me.  "  Is  this  where 
you  left  him?"  they  cried.  "And  is  he  gone? 
Are  you  sure  this  is  the  place  ?" 

Yes,  I  was  sure  of  it.  I  have  an  excellent  eye 
for  locality,  and  I  knew  that  I  had  chained  the 
bear  to  the  small  oak  in  front  of  me.  At  that  mo 
ment  there  was  a  scream  from  Genevieve.  "  Look ! 
Look  !"  she  cried.  "  There  he  is,  just  ready  to 
spring  !" 

We  all  looked  up,  and,  sure  enough,  on  the  low 
er  branch  of  the  oak,  half  enveloped  in  foliage, 
we  saw  the  bear  extended  at  full  length  and  blink 
ing  down  at  us.  I  gave  a  shout  of  delight. 

*  Now,  keep  back,  all  of  you  1"  I  cried.  "  Bears 
don't  spring  from  trees,  but  it  will  be  better  for 
you  to  be  out  of  the  way  while  I  try  to  get  him 
down." 

I  walked  up  to  the  oak-tree,  and  then  I  found 
that  the  bear  was  still  firmly  attached  to  it.  His 
chain  had  been  fastened  loosely  around  the  trunk; 
he  had  climbed  up  to  the  branch  and  pulled  the 
chain  with  him. 

127 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

I  now  called  upon  Or  so  to  come  down,  but  ap 
parently  he  did  not  understand  English,  and  lay 
quietly  upon  the  branch,  his  head  towards  the 
trunk  of  the  tree.  I  extended  my  hand  up  tow 
ards  the  chain,  and  found  that  I  could  nearly 
reach  it.  "  Shall  I  give  you  a  lift  ?"  cried  Walter, 
and  I  accepted  the  offer.  It  was  a  hard  piece  of 
work  for  him,  but  he  was  a  professed  athlete, 
and  he  would  have  lifted  me  if  it  had  cracked  his 
spine.  1  reached  up  and  unhooked  the  chain. 
It  was  then  long  enough  for  me  to  stand  on  the 
ground  and  hold  the  end  of  it. 

Now  I  began  to  pull.  "  Come  down  !"  I  said. 
*  Come  down,  Orso  !"  But  Or  so  did  not  move. 

*  Bears  don't  come  down  head-foremost,"  cried 
Percy  ;  "  they  turn  around  and  come  down  back 
wards.  You  ought  to  have  a  chain  to  his  tail  if 
you  want  to  pull  him  down." 

"  He  hasn't  got  any  tail  1 "  exclaimed  Genevieve. 

I  was  in  a  quandary.  I  might  as  well  try  to 
break  the  branch  as  to  pull  the  bear  down.  "  If 
we  had  only  thought  of  bringing  a  bucket  of 
meat!"  cried  Percy. 

"  Would  you  mind  holding  the  chain,"  I  said 

to  Walter,  "  while  I  try  to  drive  him  down  ?"     Of 

course  the  developed  young  man  was  not  afraid 

to  do  anything  I  was  not  afraid  to  do,  and  he 

128 


The   Larramie   Family 

took  the  chain.  There  was  a  pine-tree  grow 
ing  near  the  oak,  and,  mounting  into  this,  I  found 
that  with  a  long  stick  which  Mr.  Larramie  hand 
ed  me  I  could  just  reach  the  bear.  "  Go  down  1" 
1  said,  tapping  him  on  the  haunches,  but  he  did 
not  move. 

"  Can't  you  speak  to  him  in  Italian  ?"  said 
Genevieve.  *  Tame  bears  know  Italian.  Doesn't 
anybody  know  the  Italian  for  '  Come  down  out 
of  a  tree  ?'  *  But  such  knowledge  was  absent 
from  the  party. 

"Try  him  in  Latin,"  cried  Percy.  "That 
must  be  a  good  deal  like  Italian,  anyway." 

To  this  suggestion  Mr.  Larramie  made  no 
answer ;  he  had  left  college  before  any  of  the 
party  present  had  been  born  ;  Mr.  Walter  looked 
a  little  confused  ;  he  had  graduated  several  years 
before,  and  his  classics  were  rusty.  I  felt  that 
my  pedagogical  position  made  it  incumbent 
upon  me  to  take  immediate  action,  but  for  the 
life  of  me  I  could  not  think  of  an  appropriate 
phrase. 

"  Give  him  high  English  !"  cried  Mr.  Larramie. 
"  That's  often  classic  enough  I  Tell  him  to  de 
scend  I" 

"  Orso,  descend  I"  I  cried,  giving  a  little  foreign 
twang  to  the  words.  Immediately  the  bear  be- 
I  129 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

gan  to  twist  like  a  caterpillar  upon  the  limb, 
he  extended  his  hind-legs  towards  the  trunk,  he 
seized  it  with  his  fore-paws.  He  began  slowly 
to  move  downward. 

"  Hurrah  !"  cried  Percy,  "  that  hit  him  like  a 
rifle-ball  1  Hurrah  for  high  English  1  That's 
good  enough  for  me  !" 

*  Look  at  his  hind  hands  I"  cried  Genevieve. 
"  He  has  worn  all  the  hair  off  his  palms  1" 

I  hurried  from  the  tree  and  reached  the  ground 
before  the  bear.  Then  taking  the  end  of  the 
chain,  I  advised  the  others  to  move  out  of  the 
woods  while  I  followed  with  the  bear.  They  all 
obeyed  except  Genevieve,  who  wanted  very 
much  to  linger  behind  and  help  me  lead  him. 
But  this  I  would  not  permit. 

The  bear  followed  me  with  his  usual  docilny 
until  we  had  emerged  from  the  wToods.  Then  he 
gave  a  little  start,  and  fixed  his  eyes  upon  Percy, 
who  stood  at  a  short  distance,  his  rifle  in  his 
hand.  I  had  not  supposed  that  this  bear  was 
afraid  of  anything,  but  now  I  had  reason  to  be 
lieve  that  he  was  afraid  of  guns,  for  the  in 
stant  he  saw  the  armed  boy  he  made  the  little 
start  I  have  mentioned,  and  followed  it  up  by 
a  great  bolt  which  jerked  the  chain  from  my 
hand,  and  the  next  instant  Orso  was  bounding 
130 


The   Larramie   Family 

away  in  great  lopes,  his  chain  rattling  behind 
him. 

Promptly  Percy  brought  his  rifle  to  his  shoul 
der.  *  Don't  you  fire  !"  I  shouted.  "  Put  down 
your  gun  and  leave  it  here.  It  frightens  him  I" 
And  with  that  we  were  all  off  in  hot  pursuit. 

"  Cut  him  off  from  the  woods  !"  shouted  Mr. 
Walter,  who  was  in  advance.  "  If  he  gets  in  the 
woods  we'll  lose  him  sure  !* 

We  followed  this  good  advice,  and  at  the  top 
of  our  speed  we  endeavored  to  get  between  the 
beast  and  the  trees.  To  a  certain  extent  we 
succeeded  in  our  object,  for  some  of  us  were  fast 
runners,  and  Orso,  perceiving  that  he  might  be 
cut  off  from  a  woody  retreat,  turned  almost 
at  right  angles  and  made  directly  for  the 
house. 

"  He's  after  the  three  McKennas  !"  screamed 
Genevieve,  as  she  turned  to  follow  the  bear,  and 
from  being  somewhat  in  the  rear  she  was  now  in 
advance  of  us,  and  dashed  across  the  field  at  a 
most  wonderful  rate  for  a  girl. 

The  rest  of  us  soon  passed  her,  but  before  we 
reached  the  house  the  bear  disappeared  behind 
some  out-buildings.  Then  we  saw  him  again. 
He  dashed  through  the  gate  of  a  back  yard.  He 
seemed  to  throw  himself  against  the  house.  He 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

disappeared  through  a  door-way.  There  was  a 
great  crash  as  of  crockery  and  tin.  There  were 
screams.  There  was  rattling  and  banging,  and 
then  all  was  still.  When  we  reached  the  house 
we  heard  no  sound. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    THREE   McKENNAS 

WAS  in  advance,  and  as  I  entered 
the  door-way  through  which  the 
bear  had  disappeared,  I  found 
myself  in  the  kitchen  where  I 
had  seen  the  three  women  at 
their  dinner.  Wild  confusion  had  been  brought 
about  in  a  second.  A  table  had  been  over 
turned,  broken  dishes  and  tin  things  were 
scattered  on  the  floor,  a  wooden  chair  lay  upon 
its  back,  and  the  room  seemed  deserted.  The 
rest  of  the  party  quickly  rushed  in  behind  me, 
and  great  were  their  exclamations  at  the  scene 
of  havoc. 

"I  hope  nothing  has  happened  to  the  McKenna 
sisters,"  cried  Mr.  Larramie.  *  They  must  have 
been  in  here  1" 

I  did  not  suppose  that  anything  serious  had 
occurred,  for  the  bear's  jaws  were  securely  strap 
ped,  but  with  anxious  haste  I  went  into  the  other 
133 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

part  of  the  house.  Across  a  hallway  I  saw  an 
open  door,  and  from  the  room  within  came  groans, 
or  perhaps  I  should  call  them  long-drawn  wails  of 
woe. 

I  was  in  the  room  in  a  moment,  and  the  others 
crowded  through  the  door-way  behind  me.  It 
was  a  good-sized  bedroom,  probably  the  "  spare- 
room  "  of  the  first  floor.  In  one  corner  was  a  tall 
and  wide  high-posted  bedstead,  and  in  the  very 
middle  of  it  sat  an  elderly  woman  drawn  up  into 
the  smallest  compass  into  which  she  could  pos 
sibly  compress  herself.  Her  eyes  were  closed,  her 
jaws  were  dropped,  her  spectacles  hung  in  front 
of  her  mouth,  her  gray  hair  straggled  over  her 
eyes,  and  her  skin  was  of  a  soapy  whiteness. 

She  paid  no  attention  to  the  crowd  of  people 
in  the  room.  Evidently  she  was  frightened  out 
of  her  senses.  Every  moment  she  emitted  a  dole 
ful  wail.  As  we  stood  gazing  at  her,  and  before 
we  had  time  to  speak  to  her,  she  seemed  to  be 
seized  by  an  upheaving  spasm,  the  influence  of 
which  was  so  great  that  she  actually  rose  in  the 
air,  and  as  she  did  so  her  wrail  intensified  itself 
into  a  shriek,  and  as  she  came  down  again  with  a 
sudden  thump  all  the  breath  in  her  body  seemed 
to  be  bounced  out  in  a  gasp  of  woe. 

"  It's  Susan  McKenna  \"  exclaimed  Walter. 
134 


The   Three   McKennas 

"  What  in  the  world  is  the  matter  with  her  ?    Miss 
Susan,  are  you  hurt  1" 

She  made  no  answer,  but  again  she  rose,  again 
she  gave  vent  to  a  wild  wail,  and  again  she  came 
down  with  a  thump. 

Percy  was  now  on  his  knees  near  the  bed. 
"  It's  the  bear  !"  he  cried.  *  He's  under  there, 
and  he's  humping  himself  1" 

"  Sacking  bottom  \"  cried  the  practical  Gene- 
vieve  "  There  isn't  room  enough  for  him !" 

Stooping  down  I  saw  the  bear  under  the  bed, 
now  crowding  himself  back  as  far  as  possible 
into  a  corner.  No  part  of  his  chain  was  exposed 
to  view,  and  for  a  moment  I  did  not  see  how  I  was 
going  to  get  him  out.  But  the  first  thing  was  to 
get  rid  of  the  woman. 

"  Come,  Miss  Susan, "  said  Mr.  Larramie,  *  let 
me  help  you  off  the  bed,  and  you  can  go  into 
another  room,  and  then  we  will  attend  to  this 
animal.  You  need  not  be  afraid  to  get  down. 
He  won't  hurt  you." 

But  the  McKenna  sister  paid  no  attention  to 
these  remarks.  She  kept  her  eyes  closed ;  she 
moaned  and  wailed.  So  long  as  that  horrible 
demon  was  under  the  bed  she  would  not  have 
put  as  much  as  one  of  her  toes  over  the  edge  for 
all  the  money  in  the  world  I 
135 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

In  every  way  I  tried  to  induce  the  bear  to  come 
out,  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  me.  He  had  been 
frightened,  and  he  was  now  in  darkness  and 
security.  Suddenly  a  happy  thought  struck 
me.  I  glanced  around  the  room,  and  then  I 
rushed  into  the  hall.  Genevieve  followed  me. 
"  What  do  you  want  ?"  she  said. 

*  I  am  looking  for  some  overshoes  \"  I  cried. 
*  India-rubber  ones  !" 

Instantly  Genevieve  began  to  dash  around. 
In  a  few  moments  she  had  opened  a  little  closet 
which  I  had  not  noticed.  "  Here  is  one  1"  she 
cried,  "  but  it's  torn — the  heel  is  nearly  off  ! 
Perhaps  the  other  one — " 

*  Give  me  that  \»  I   exclaimed.     *  It  doesn't 
matter  about  its  being  torn  !"     With  the  old 
overshoe  in  my  hand  I  ran  back  into  the  room, 
where  Mr.  Larramie  was  still  imploring  the  Mc- 
Kenna  sister  to  get  down  from  the  bed.     I  stooped 
and  thrust  the  shoe  under  as  far  as  I  could  reach. 
Almost  immediately  I  saw  a  movement  in  the 
shaggy  mass  in  the  corner.     I  wriggled  the  shoe, 
and  a  paw  was  slightly  extended.     Then  I  drew 
it  away  slowly  from  under  the  bed. 

Now,  Miss  Susan  McKenna  rose  in  the  air 
higher  than  she  had  yet  gone.  A  maddening 
wail  went  up,  and  for  a  moment  she  tottered  on 

136 


The   Three   McKennas 

the  apex  of  an  elevation  like  a  wooden  idol  up 
heaved  by  an  earthquake.  Before  she  had  time 
to  tumble  over  she  sank  again  with  a  thump. 
The  great  hairy  bear,  .looking  twice  as  large  in 
that  room  as  he  appeared  in  the  open  air,  came 
out  from  under  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  as  I  dangled 
the  old  rubber  shoe  in  front  of  his  nose  he  would 
have  seized  upon  it  if  his  jaws  had  not  been 
strapped  together.  I  got  hold  of  the  chain  and 
conducted  him  quietly  outside,  amid  the  cheers 
and  hand-clapping  of  Percy  and  Genevieve. 

I  chained  Orso  to  a  post  of  the  fence,  and,  re 
moving  his  muzzle,  I  gave  him  the  old  rubber 
shoe. 

"  Shall  I  bring  him  some  more  V  cried  Gene 
vieve,  full  of  zeal  in  good  works.  But  I  assured 
her  that  one  would  do  for  the  present. 

I  now  hurried  into  the  house  to  find  out  what 
had  happened  to  the  persons  and  property  of  the 
McKenna  sisters. 

"  Where  are  the  other  two  ?"  cried  Genevieve, 
who  was  darting  from  one  room  to  another; 
"  the  bear  can't  have  swallowed  them." 

It  was  not  long  before  Percy  discovered  the  two 
missing  sisters  in  the  cellar.  They  were  seated 
on  the  ground  with  their  aprons  over  their  heads. 

It  was  some  time  before  quiet  was  restored  in 
137 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

that  household.  To  the  paralyzing  terror  occa 
sioned  by  the  sudden  advent  of  the  bear  suc 
ceeded  wild  lamentations  over  the  loss  of  property. 
I  assured  them  that  I  was  perfectly  willing  to 
make  good  the  loss,  but  Mr.  Larramie  would  not 
allow  me  to  say  anything  on  the  subject. 

"  It  is  not  your  affair/'  said  he.  *  The  bear 
would  have  done  no  damage  whatever  had  it  not 
been  for  the  folly  of  Percy  in  bringing  his  gun 
— I  suppose  the  animal  has  been  shot  at  some 
time  or  other — and  my  weakness  in  allowing 
him  to  keep  it.  I  will  attend  to  these  damages. 
The  amount  is  very  little,  I  imagine,  principally 
cheap  crockery,  and  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is 
to  start  off  slowly  with  your  bear.  The  women 
will  not  be  able  to  talk  reasonably  until  it  is  off 
the  premises.  I  will  catch  up  with  you  pres 
ently." 

When  the  bear  and  I,  with  the  rest  of  the  party, 
were  fairly  out  of  sight  of  the  house,  we  stopped 
and  waited  for  Mr.  Larramie,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  joined  us. 

When  we  reached  the  hay-barn  we  were  met 
by  the  rest  of  the  Larramie  family,  all  anxious 
to  see  the  bear.  Even  Miss  Edith,  who  had  had 
one  glimpse  of  the  beast,  was  very  glad  indeed 
to  assure  me  that  she  did  not  wonder  in  the  least 

138 


The   Three   McKennas 

that  I  had  supposed  there  would  be  no  harm  in 
leaving  such  a  mild  creature  for  a  little  while  by 
the  side  of  the  road,  and  I  was  sure  from  the  ex 
clamations  of  the  rest  of  the  family  that  Orso 
would  not  suffer  for  want  of  care  and  attention 
during  his  stay  in  the  hay-barn. 

I  was  immensely  relieved  to  get  rid  of  the 
bear  and  to  leave  him  in  such  good  quarters,  for 
it  now  appeared  to  me  quite  reasonable  that  I 
might  have  had  difficulty  in  lodging  him  any 
where  on  the  premises  of  the  Cheltenham,  and 
under  any  circumstances  I  very  much  preferred 
appearing  at  that  hotel  without  an  ursine  com 
panion.  As  soon  as  we  reached  the  house  I  told 
Mr.  Larramie  that  it  was  now  necessary  for  me 
to  hurry  on,  and  asked  if  there  were  not  some 
way  to  the  hotel  which  would  not  make  it  neces 
sary  for  me  to  go  back  to  the  main  road. 

The  good  gentleman  fairly  shouted  at  me. 
"  You  aren't  going  to  any  hotel  1"  he  declared. 
"  Do  you  suppose  we  are  heathens,  to  let  you 
start  off  at  this  late  hour  in  the  afternoon  for  a 
hotel  ?  You  have  nothing  to  do  with  hotels — 
you  spend  the  night  with  us,  sir  !  If  you  are 
thinking  about  your  clothes,  pray  dismiss  the 
subject  from  your  mind.  If  it  will  make  you 
feel  better  satisfied,  we  will  all  put  on  golf  suits. 
139 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

In  the  morning  we  will  get  your  machine  from 
the  Holly  Sprig,  and  when  you  want  to  go  on 
we  will  send  you  and  it  to  Waterton  in  a  wagon. 
It  is  not  a  long  drive,  and  it  is  much  the  pleas- 
anter  way  to  manage  your  business." 

The  family  showed  themselves  delighted  when 
they  heard  that  I  was  to  spend  the  night  with 
them,  and  I  did  not  object  to  the  plan,  for  I  had 
not  the  slightest  desire  to  go  to  a  summer  hotel. 
Just  before  I  went  up  to  my  room  to  get  ready 
for  supper,  the  young  Genevieve  came  to  me 
upon  the  porch. 

"  Would  you  mind,"  she  said,  "  letting  me  feel 
your  muscle  ?" 

Very  much  surprised,  I  reached  out  my  arm 
for  her  inspection,  and  she  clasped  her  long  thin 
fingers  around  my  biceps  flexor  cubiti.  Appar 
ently,  the  inspection  was  very  satisfactory  to 
her. 

"  I  would  give  anything,"  she  said,  *  if  I  had 
muscle  like  that  1" 

I  laughed  heartily.  "My  dear  little  girl," 
said  I,  "  you  would  be  sorry,  indeed,  if  you  had 
anything  of  the  sort.  When  you  grow  up  and 
go  to  parties,  how  would  you  like  to  show  bare 
arms  shaped  like  mine  ?  You  would  be  a  spec 
tacle,  indeed." 

140 


The   Three   McKennas 

"  Well/'  said  she,  "  perhaps  you  are  right.  I 
might  not  care  to  have  them  bulge,  but  I  would 
like  to  have  them  hard." 

It  was  a  lively  supper  and  an  interesting  even 
ing.  Miss  Edith  sat  opposite  to  me  at  table — 
I  gave  her  this  title  because  I  was  informed  that 
there  was  an  elder  sister  who  was  away  on  a  visit. 
I  could  see  that  she  regarded  me  as  her  especial 
charge.  She  did  not  ask  me  what  I  would  have, 
but  she  saw  that  every  possible  want  was  at 
tended  to.  As  the  table  was  lighted  by  a  large 
hanging-lamp,  I  had  a  better  view  of  her  features 
than  I  had  yet  obtained.  She  was  not  hand 
some.  Her  eyes  were  too  wide  apart,  her  nose 
needed  perhaps  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  length, 
and  her  well-shaped  mouth  would  not  have  suf 
fered  by  a  slight  reduction.  But  there  was  a 
cheerful  honesty  in  her  expression  and  in  her 
words  which  gave  me  the  idea  that  she  was  a 
girl  to  believe  in. 

After  supper  we  played  round  games,  and  the 
nervous  young  lady  talked.  She  could  not 
keep  her  mind  on  cards,  and  therefore  played  no 
game.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  Mrs.  Lar- 
ramie  took  occasion  to  say  to  me,  and  her  eyes 
were  very  full  as  she  spoke,  that  she  did  not 
want  me  to  think  she  had  forgotten  that  that 
141 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

day  I  had  given  her  her  daughter,  and  although 
the  others — greatly  to  my  satisfaction — did  not 
indulge  in  any  such  embarrassing  expressions 
of  gratitude,  they  did  not  fail  to  let  me  know  the 
high  estimation  in  which  they  held  me.  The 
little  girl,  Clara,  sat  close  to  me  while  I  was  play 
ing,  every  now  and  then  gently  stroking  my 
arm,  and  when  she  was  taken  off  to  bed  she  ran 
back  to  say  to  me  that  the  next  time  I  brought 
a  bear  to  their  house  she  hoped  I  would  also  bring 
some  little  ones.  Even  Percy  took  occasion  to 
let  me  know  that,  under  the  circumstances,  he 
was  willing  to  overlook  entirely  the  fact  of  my 
being  a  school-master. 

After  the  games,  when  the  family  was  scat 
tering — not  to  their  several  bed-chambers,  but 
apparently  to  various  forms  of  recreation  or 
study  which  seemed  to  demand  their  attention 
— Miss  Edith  asked  me  if  I  would  not  like  to 
take  a  walk  and  look  at  the  stars.  As  this  sug 
gestion  was  made  in  the  presence  of  her  parents, 
I  hesitated  a  moment,  expecting  some  discreet 
objection.  But  none  came,  and  I  assented  most 
willingly  to  a  sub-astral  promenade. 

There  was  a  long,  flagged  walk  which  led  to 
the  road,  and  backward  and  forward  upon  this 
path  we  walked  many,  many  times. 
142 


The   Three    McKennas 

"  I  like  starlight  better  than  moonlight/'  said 
Miss  Edith,  "  for  it  doesn't  pretend  to  be  any 
thing  more  than  it  is.  You  cannot  do  anything 
by  starlight  except  simply  walk  about,  and  if 
there  are  any  trees,  that  isn't  easy.  You  know 
this,  you  don't  expect  anything  more,  and  you're 
satisfied.  But  moonlight  is  different.  Some 
times  it  is  so  bright  out-of-doors  when  the  moon 
is  full  that  you  are  apt  to  think  you  could  play 
golf  or  croquet,  or  even  sit  on  a  bench  and  read. 
But  it  isn't  so.  You  can't  do  any  of  these  things — 
at  least,  you  can't  do  them  with  any  satisfaction. 
And  yet,  month  after  month,  if  you  live  in  the 
country,  the  moon  deceives  you  into  thinking 
that  for  a  great  many  things  she  is  nearly  as  good 
as  the  sun.  But  all  she  does  is  to  make  the  world 
beautiful,  and  she  doesn't  do  that  as  well  as  the 
sun  does  it.  The  stars  make  no  pretences,  and 
that  is  the  reason  I  like  them  better. 

"  But  I  did  not  bring  you  out  here  to  tell  you 
all  this,"  she  continued,  offering  me  no  oppor 
tunity  of  giving  my  opinions  on  the  stars  and 
moon.  "  I  simply  wanted  to  say  that  I  am  so 
glad  and  thankful  to  be  walking  about  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth  with  whole  bones  and  not  a 
scratch  from  head  to  foot" — at  this  point  my 
heart  began  to  sink  :  I  never  do  know  what  to 
143 


A    Bicycle   of  Cathay 

say  when  people  are  grateful  to  me — "  that  I  am 
going  to  show  you  my  gratitude  by  treating  you 
as  I  know  you  would  like  to  be  treated.  I  shall 
not  pour  out  my  gratitude  before  you  and  make 
you  say  things  which  are  incorrect,  for  you  are 
bound  to  do  that  if  you  say  anything — " 

"  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart/' 
I  said  ;  "  but  now  let  us  talk  some  more  about  the 
stars." 

"  Oh,  bother  the  stars  !"  said  she.  "  But  I 
will  drop  the  subject  of  gratitude  as  soon  as  I 
have  said  that  if  you  ever  come  to  know  me  bet 
ter  than  you  do  now,  you  will  know  that  in  re 
gard  to  such  things  I  am  the  right  kind  of  a  girl." 

I  had  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  she  was  en 
tirely  correct.  And  then  she  began  to  talk  about 
golf,  and  after  that  of  croquet. ' 

"  I  consider  that  the  finest  out-door  game  we 
have,"  she  said,  "  because  there  is  more  science 
in  it  than  you  find  in  any  of  the  others.  Your 
brains  must  work  when  you  play  croquet  with 
intelligent  opponents." 

*  The  great  trouble  about  it  is,"  I  said,  "  that 
it  is  often  so  easy." 

"  But  you  can  get  rid  of  that  objection,"  she 
replied,  *  if  you  have  a  bad  ground.  Croquet 
needs  hazards  just  as  much  as  golf  does.  The 
144 


The  Three  McKennas 

finest  games  I  have  ever  seen  were  played  on  a 
bad  ground." 

So  we  talked  and  walked  until  some  of  the 
lights  in  the  upper  windows  of  the  house  had 
gone  out.  We  ascended  to  the  porch,  and  just 
before  entering  the  front  door  she  turned  to  me. 

"  I  wish  I  could  go  to  sleep  to-night  with  the 
same  right  to  feel  proud,  self-confident,  superior, 
that  you  have.  Good-night."  And  she  held 
out  her  hand  and  gave  mine  a  strong,  hearty 
shake. 

I  smiled  as  she  left  me  standing  on  the  porch. 
This  was  the  same  spot  on  which  her  sister  Gen- 
evieve  had  felt  my  muscle.  "  This  is  an  appre 
ciative  family,"  I  said,  and,  guided  by  the  sound 
of  voices,  I  found  Mr.  Larramie  and  his  son  Wal 
ter  in  the  billiard-room. 


CHAPTER  XII 


BACK  TO  THE  HOLLY  SPRIG 

IEFORE  going  to  bed  that  night 
I  did  not  throw  myself  into  an 
easy -chair  and  gaze  musingly 
out  into  the  night.  On  the  con 
trary,  I  stood  up  sturdily  with 
my  back  to  the  mantel-piece,  and  with  the  fore 
finger  of  my  right  hand  I  tapped  my  left  palm. 

"  Now,  then,"  said  I  to  myself,  "  as  soon  as  my 
bicycle  is  put  into  working  order  I  shall  imitate 
travellers  in  hot  countries — I  shall  ride  all  night, 
and  I  shall  rest  all  day.  There  are  too  many 
young  women  in  Cathay.  They  turn  up  one 
after  another  with  the  regularity  of  a  continu 
ous  performance.  No  sooner  is  the  curtain  rung 
down  on  one  act  than  it  is  rung  up  on  another. 
Perhaps  after  a  while  I  may  get  out  of  Cathay, 
and  then  again  I  may  ride  by  day." 

In  taking  my  things  from  my  valise,  I  pulled 
out  the  little  box  which  the  doctor's  daughter 
146 


"I    TAPPED    MY    LEFT   PALM" 


Back   to    the  Holly   Sprig 

had  given  me,  but  I  did  not  open  it.  u  No,"  said 
I,  "  there  is  no  need  whatever  that  I  should  take 
a  capsule  to-night." 

After  breakfast  the  next  day  Mr.  Larramie 
came  to  me.  "  Do  you  know,"  said  he,  "  I  feel 
ashamed  on  account  of  the  plans  I  made  for  you." 

I  did  not  know,  for  I  could  see  no  earthly  rea 
son  for  such  feeling. 

"  I  arranged,"  said  he,  "  to  send  to  the  Holly 
Sprig  for  your  machine,  and  then  to  have  you 
and  it  driven  over  to  Waterton.  Now  this  I  con 
sider  brutish.  My  wife  told  me  that  it  was,  and 
I  agree  with  her  perfectly.  It  will  take  several 
days  to  repair  that  injured  wheel — Walter  tells 
me  you  cannot  expect  it  in  less  than  three  days 
— and  what  will  you  do  in  Waterton  all  that  time? 
It  isn't  a  pretty  country,  the  hotels  are  barely 
good  enough  for  a  night's  stop,  and  there  isn't 
anything  for  you  to  do.  Even  if  you  hired  a 
wheel  you  would  find  it  stupid  exploring  that 
county.  Now,  sir,  that  plan  is  brushed  entirely 
out  of  sight.  Your  bicycle  shall  be  sent  on,  and 
when  you  hear  that  it  is  repaired  and  ready  for 
use,  you  can  go  on  yourself  if  you  wish  to." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  I  exclaimed,  "  this  is  entirely 
too  much  !" 

He  put  his  hands  upon  my  shoulders  and 
147 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

looked  me  squarely  in  the  face.  "  Too  much  !" 
said  he,  "  too  much !  That  may  be  your  opinion, 
but  I  can  tell  you  you  have  the  whole  of  the 
rest  of  the  world  against  you.  That  is,  you 
would  have  if  they  all  knew  the  circumstances. 
Now  you  are  only  one,  and  if  you  want  to  know 
how  many  people  are  opposed  to  you,  I  have  no 
doubt  Percy  can  tell  you,  but  I  am  not  very  well 
posted  in  regard  to  the  present  population  of  the 
world." 

There  was  no  good  reason  that  I  could  offer 
why  I  should  go  and  sit  solitary  in  Waterton 
for  three  days,  and  if  I  had  had  any  such  reason 
I  know  it  would  have  been  treated  with  contempt. 
So  I  submitted — not  altogether  with  an  easy 
mind,  and  yet  seeing  cause  for  nothing  but  sat 
isfaction  and  content. 

"  Another  thing,"  said  Mr.  Larramie;  "I  have 
thought  that  you  would  like  to  attend  to  your 
bicycle  yourself.  Perhaps  you  will  want  to 
take  it  apart  before  you  send  it  away.  Percy 
will  be  glad  to  drive  to  the  Holly  Sprig,  and  you 
can  go  with  him.  Then,  when  you  come  back, 
I  will  have  my  man  take  your  machine  to  Water- 
ton.  I  have  a  young  horse  very  much  in  need 
of  work,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  an  excuse 
for  giving  him  some  travelling  to  do." 
148 


Back   to  the  Holly   Sprig 

I  stood  astounded.  Go  back  to  the  Holly 
Sprig  !  This  arrangement  had  been  made  with 
out  reference  to  me.  It  had  been  supposed,  of 
course,  that  I  would  be  glad  to  go  and  attend  to 
the  proper  packing  of  my  bicycle.  Even  now, 
Percy,  running  across  the  yard,  called  to  me 
that  he  would  be  ready  to  start  in  two  minutes. 

When  I  took  my  seat  in  the  wagon,  Mr.  Lar- 
ramie  was  telling  me  that  he  would  like  me  to 
inform  Mrs.  Chester  that  he  would  keep  the  bear 
until  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  own 
er  would  not  come  for  it,  and  that  then  he  would 
either  sell  it  or  buy  it  himself,  and  make  satis 
factory  settlement  with  her. 

I  know  I  did  not  hear  all  that  he  said,  for  my 
mind  was  wildly  busy  trying  to  decide  what  I 
ought  to  do.  Should  I  jump  down  even  now 
and  decline  to  go  to  the  Holly  Sprig,  or  should 
I  go  on  and  attend  to  my  business  like  a  sensible 
man  ?  There  was  certainly  no  reason  why  I 
should  do  anything  else,  but  when  the  impatient 
Percy  started,  my  mind  was  not  in  the  least  made 
up ;  I  remained  on  the  seat  beside  him  simply  be 
cause  I  was  there. 

Percy  was  a  good  driver,  and  glad  to  exhibit 
his  skill.  He  was  also  in  a  lively  mood,  and 
talked  with  great  freedom.  "  Do  you  know," 
149 


A    Bicycle   of  Cathay 

said  he,  "  that  Edith  wanted  to  drive  you  over 
to  the  inn  ?  Think  of  that !  But  it  had  all  been 
cut  and  dried  that  I  should  go,  and  I  was  not 
going  to  listen  to  any  such  nonsense.  Besides, 
you  might  want  somebody  to  help  you  take  your 
machine  apart  and  pack  it  up." 

I  was  well  satisfied  to  be  accompanied  by  the 
boy  and  not  by  his  sister,  and  with  the  wheels 
and  his  tongue  rattling  along  together,  we  soon 
reached  the  inn. 

Percy  drove  past  it  and  was  about  to  turn 
into  the  entrance  of  the  yard,  but  I  stopped 
him.  "  I  suppose  your  wheel  is  back  there,"  he 
said. 

*  Yes,"  said  I,  "  but  I  will  get  out  here." 

"All  right,"  he  replied,  "I'll  drive  around  to 
the  sheds." 

At  the  open  door  of  the  large  room  I  met  Mrs. 
Chester,  evidently  on  her  way  out-of-doors.  She 
wore  a  wide  straw  hat,  her  hands  were  gloved,  and 
she  carried  a  basket  and  a  pair  of  large  shears. 
When  she  saw  me  there  was  a  sudden  flush  upon 
her  face,  but  it  disappeared  quickly.  Whether 
this  meant  that  she  was  agreeably  surprised  to 
see  me  again,  or  whether  it  showed  that  she  re 
sented  my  turning  up  again  so  soon  after  she 
thought  she  was  finally  rid  of  me,  I  did  not  know. 
150 


THERE   WAS    A    SUDDEN    FLUSH 


Back    to    the  Holly  Sprig 

It  does  not  do  to  predicate  too  much  upon  the 
flushes  of  women. 

I  hastened  to  inform  her  why  I  had  come,  and 
now,  having  recovered  from  her  momentary  sur 
prise,  she  asked  me  to  walk  in  and  sit  down,  an 
invitation  which  I  willingly  accepted,  for  I  did 
not  in  the  least  object  to  detaining  her  from  her 
garden. 

Now  she  wanted  to  know  how  I  had  managed 
to  get  on  with  the  bear,  and  what  the  people  at 
the  Cheltenham  said  about  it,  and  when  I  went 
on  to  tell  her  the  whole  story,  which  I  did  at  con 
siderable  length,  she  was  intensely  interested. 
She  shuddered  at  the  runaway,  she  laughed 
heartily  at  the  uprising  of  the  McKenna  sister, 
and  she  listened  earnestly  to  everything  I  had 
to  say  about  the  Larramies. 

"  You  seem  to  have  a  wonderful  way,"  she  ex 
claimed,  "  of  falling  in  with — "  I  think  she  was 
going  to  say  "  girls,"  but  she  changed  it  to  "peo- 
pie." 

"  Yes,"  said  I.  *  I  should  not  have  imagined 
that  I  could  make  so  many  good  friends  in  such 
a  short  time." 

Then  I  went  on  to  give  her  Mr.  Larramie's 
message,  and  to  say  more  things  about  the  bear. 
I  was  glad  to  think  of  any  subject  which  might 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

prolong  the  conversation.  So  far  she  was  inter 
ested,  and  all  that  we  said  seemed  perfectly 
natural  to  the  occasion,  but  this  could  not  last, 
and  I  felt  within  me  a  strong  desire  to  make  some 
better  use  of  this  interview. 

I  had  not  expected  to  see  her  again,  certainly 
not  so  soon,  and  here  I  was  alone  with  her,  free 
to  say  what  I  chose  ;  but  what  should  I  say  ? 
I  had  not  premeditated  anything  serious.  In 
fact,  I  was  not  sure  that  I  wished  to  say  any 
thing  which  should  be  considered  absolutely 
serious  and  definite,  but  if  I  were  ever  to  do  any 
thing  definite — and  the  more  I  talked  with  this 
bright-eyed  and  merry-hearted  young  lady  the 
stronger  became  the  longing  to  say  something 
definite — now  was  the  time  to  prepare  the  way 
for  what  I  might  do  or  say  hereafter. 

I  was  beginning  to  grow  nervous,  for  the  right 
thing  to  say  would  not  present  itself,  when  Percy 
strode  into  the  room.  "  Good-morning,  Mrs. 
Chester,"  said  he,  and  then,  turning  to  me,  he  de 
clared  that  he  had  been  waiting  in  the  yard,  and 
began  to  think  I  might  have  forgotten  I  had  come 
for  my  wheel. 

Of  course  I  rose  and  she  rose,  and  we  followed 
Percy  to  the  back  door  of  the  house.  Outside  I 
saw  that  the  boy  of  the  inn  was  holding  the  horse, 
152 


Back   to    the  Holly   Sprig 

and  that  the  wheel  was  already  placed  in  the 
back  part  of  the  wagon. 

"  I've  got  everything  all  right,  I  think/'  said 
Percy.  "  I  didn't  suppose  it  was  necessary  to 
wait  for  you,  but  you'd  better  take  a  look  at  it  to 
see  if  you  think  it  will  travel  without  rubbing  or 
damaging  itself." 

I  stepped  to  the  wagon  and  found  that  the 
bicycle  was  very  well  placed.  "  Now,  then/'  said 
Percy,  taking  the  reins  and  mounting  to  his  seat, 
"  all  you've  got  to  do  is  to  get  up,  and  we'll  be 
off." 

I  turned  to  the  back  door,  but  she  was  not 
there.  "  Wait  a  minute,"  said  I,  and  I  hurried 
into  the  house.  She  was  not  in  the  hall.  I 
looked  into  the  large  room.  She  was  not  there. 
I  went  into  the  parlor,  and  out  upon  the  front 
porch.  Then  I  went  back  into  the  house  to  seek 
some  one  who  might  call  her.  I  was  even  willing 
to  avail  myself  of  the  services  of  citric  acid,  for  I 
could  not  leave  that  house  without  speaking  to 
her  again. 

In  a  moment  Mrs.  Chester  appeared  from  some 
inner  room.  I  believe  she  suspected  that  I  had 
something  to  say  to  her  which  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  bear  or  the  Larramies,  for  I  had  been 
conscious  that  my  speech  had  been  a  little  ram- 
153 


A   Bicycle  of  Cathay 

bling,  as  if  I  were  earnestly  thinking  of  something 
else  than  what  I  was  saying,  and  that  she  de 
sired  I  should  be  taken  away  without  an  op 
portunity  to  unburden  my  mind ;  but  now,  hear 
ing  me  tramping  about  and  knowing  that  I 
was  looking  for  her,  she  was  obliged  to  show 
herself. 

As  she  came  forward  I  noticed  that  her  ex 
pression  had  changed  somewhat.  There  was 
nothing  merry  about  her  eyes ;  I  think  she  was 
slightly  pale,  and  her  brows  were  a  little  con 
tracted,  as  if  she  were  doing  something  she  did 
not  want  to  do. 

"  I  hope  you  found  everything  all  right,"  she 
said. 

I  looked  at  her  steadily.  "  No,"  said  I,  "  every 
thing  is  not  all  right." 

A  slight  shade  of  anxiety  came  upon  her 
face.  "  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that,"  she  said. 
"  Was  your  wheel  injured  more  than  you 
thought  ?" 

"  Wheel  !"  I  exclaimed.  "  I  was  not  thinking 
of  wheels  1  I  will  tell  you  what  is  not  all  right ! 
It  is  not  right  for  me  to  go  away  without  saying 
to  you  that  I—" 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  strong,  shrill 
whistle  from  the  front  of  the  house.  A  most 
154 


Back   to   the   Holly   Sprig 

unmistakable  sense  of  relief  showed  itself  upon 
her  face.  She  ran  to  the  front  door,  and  called 
out,  "  Yes,  he  is  coming." 

There  was  nothing  for  me  to  do  but  to  follow 
her.  I  greatly  disliked  going  away  without 
saying  what  I  wanted  to  say,  and  I  would  have 
been  willing  to  speak  even  at  the  front  door,  but 
she  gave  me  no  chance. 

"  Good-bye,"  she  said,  extending  her  hand.  It 
was  gloved.  It  gave  no  clasp — it  invited  none. 
As  I  could  not  say  the  words  which  were  on  my 
tongue,  I  said  nothing,  and,  raising  my  cap,  I 
hurried  away. 

To  make  up  for  lost  time,  Percy  drove  very 
rapidly.  "  I  came  mighty  near  having  a  fight 
while  you  were  in  the  house,"  said  he.  "  It  was 
that  boy  at  the  inn.  He's  a  queer  sort  of  a  fellow, 
and  awfully  impertinent.  He  was  talking  about 
you,  and  he  wanted  to  know  if  the  bear  had  hurt 
you.  He  said  he  believed  you  were  really  afraid 
of  the  beast,  and  only  wanted  to  show  off  before 
the  women. 

"I  stood  up  for  you,  and  I  told  him  about  Edith's 
runaway,  and  then  he  said,  fair  and  square,  that 
he  didn't  believe  you  stopped  the  horse.  He 
said  he  guessed  my  sister  pulled  him  up  herself, 
and  that  then  you  came  along  and  grabbed  him 
155 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

and  took  all  the  credit.  He  said  he  thought  you 
were  that  sort  of  a  fellow. 

"  That's  the  time  I  was  going  to  pitch  into 
him,  but  then  I  thought  it  would  be  a  pretty  low- 
down  thing  for  me  to  be  fighting  a  country  tavern- 
boy,  so  I  simply  gave  him  my  opinion  of  him. 
I  don't  believe  he'd  have  held  the  horse,  only  he 
thought  it  would  make  you  get  away  quicker. 
He  hates  you.  Did  you  ever  kick  him  or  any 
thing  ?" 

I  laughed,  and,  telling  Percy  that  I  had  never 
kicked  the  boy,  I  thanked  him  for  his  champion 
ship  of  me. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
A  MAN  WITH  A  LETTER 

[HEN  my  unfortunate  bicycle  had 
been  started  on  its  way  to  Water- 
ton,  I  threw  myself  into  the  fam 
ily  life  of  the  Larramies,  deter 
mined  not  to  let  them  see  any 
perturbations  of  mind  which  had  been  caused 
by  the  extraordinary  promptness  of  the  younger 
son.  If  a  man  had  gone  with  me  instead  of  that 
boy,  I  would  have  had  every  opportunity  of 
saying  what  I  wanted  to  say  to  the  mistress 
of  the  Holly  Sprig.  I  may  state  that  I  fre 
quently  found  myself  trying  to  determine  what 
it  was  I  wanted  to  say. 

I  did  my  best  to  suppress  all  thoughts  relat 
ing  to  things  outside  of  this  most  hospitable  and 
friendly  house.  I  went  to  see  the  bear  with  the 
younger  members  of  the  family.  I  played  four 
games  of  tennis,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  whole 
family  went  to  fish  in  a  very  pretty  mill-pond 
157 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

about  a  mile  from  the  house.  A  good  many  fish 
were  caught,  large  and  small,  and  not  one  of  the 
female  fishers,  except  Miss  Willoughby,  the 
nervous  young  lady,  and  little  Clara,  would 
allow  me  to  take  a  fish  from  her  hook.  Even 
Mrs.  Larramie  said  that  if  she  fished  at  all  she 
thought  she  ought  to  do  everything  for  herself, 
and  not  depend  upon  other  people. 

As  much  as  possible  I  tried  to  be  with  Mr. 
Larramie  and  Walter.  I  had  not  the  slightest 
distaste  for  the  company  of  the  ladies,  but  there 
was  a  consciousness  upon  me  that  there  were 
pleasant  things  in  which  a  man  ought  to  restrict 
himself.  There  was  nothing  chronic  about  this 
consciousness.  It  was  on  duty  for  this  occasion 
only. 

That  night  at  the  supper-table  the  conversa 
tion  took  a  peculiar  turn.  Mr.  Larramie  was 
the  chief  speaker,  and  it  pleased  him  to  hold 
forth  upon  the  merits  of  Mrs.  Chester.  He  said, 
and  his  wife  and  others  of  the  company  agreed 
with  him,  that  she  was  a  lady  of  peculiarly  es 
timable  character ;  that  she  was  out  of  place ; 
that  every  one  who  knew  her  well  felt  that  she 
was  out  of  place ;  but  that  she  so  graced  her 
position  that  she  almost  raised  it  to  her  level. 
Over  and  over  again  her  friends  had  said  to  her 
158 


A  Man  with   a    Letter 

that  a  lady  such  as  she  was — still  young,  of  a 
good  family,  well  educated,  who  had  travelled, 
and  moved  in  excellent  society — should  not  con 
tinue  to  be  the  landlady  of  a  country  inn,  but 
the  advice  of  her  friends  had  had  no  effect  upon 
her. 

It  was  not  known  whether  it  was  necessary 
for  her  to  continue  the  inn-keeping  business,  but 
the  general  belief  was  that  it  was  not  necessary. 
It  was  supposed  that  she  had  had  money  when 
she  married  Godfrey  Chester,  and  he  was  not  a 
poor  man. 

Then  came  a  strange  revelation,  which  Mr. 
Larramie  dwelt  upon  with  considerable  earnest 
ness.  There  was  an  idea,  he  said,  that  Mrs. 
Chester  kept  up  the  Holly  Sprig  because  she 
thought  it  would  be  her  husband's  wish  that  she 
should  do  so.  He  had  probably  said  something 
about  its  being  a  provision  for  her  in  case  of  his 
death.  At  any  rate,  she  seemed  desirous  to 
maintain  the  establishment  exactly  as  he  had 
ordered  it  in  his  life,  making  no  change  what 
ever,  very  much  as  if  she  had  expected  him  to 
come  back,  and  wished  him  to  find  everything  as 
he  had  left  it. 

*  Of  course  she  doesn't  expect  him  to  come 
back,"  said  Mr.  Larramie,  "  because  it  must  now 
159 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

be  four  years  since  the  time  of  his  supposed 
murder — " 

"  Supposed  !"  I  cried,  with  much  more  excited 
interest  than  I  would  have  shown  if  I  had  taken 
proper  thought  before  speaking. 

"  Well/'  said  Mr.  Larramie,  "  that  is  a  fine 
point.  I  said '  supposed '  because  the  facts  of  the 
case  are  not  definitely  known.  There  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt,  however,  that  he  is  dead,  for 
even  if  this  fact  had  not  been  conclusively  proved 
by  the  police  investigations,  it  might  now  be 
considered  proved  by  his  continued  absence. 
It  would  have  been  impossible  for  Mr.  Chester 
alive  to  keep  away  from  his  wife  for  four  years — 
they  were  devoted  to  each  other.  Furthermore, 
the  exact  manner  of  his  death  is  not  known — 
although  it  must  have  been  a  murder — and  for 
these  reasons  I  used  the  word  'supposed/  But, 
really,  so  far  as  human  judgment  can  go,  the 
whole  matter  is  a  certainty.  I  have  not  the 
slightest  doubt  in  the  world  that  Mrs.  Chester  so 
considers  it,  and  yet,  as  she  does  not  positively 
know  it — as  she  has  not  the  actual  proofs  that 
her  husband  is  no  longer  living — she  refuses  in 
certain  ways,  in  certain  ways  only,  to  consider 
herself  a  widow." 

"And  what  ways  are  those?"  I  asked,  in  a 
160 


A   Man   with    a    Letter 

voice  which,  I  hope,  exhibited  no  undue  emo 
tion. 

"  She  declines  to  marry  again/'  said  Mrs. 
Larramie,  now  taking  up  the  conversation.  "  Of 
course,  such  a  pretty  woman — I  may  say,  such 
a  charming  woman — would  have  admirers, 
and  I  know  that  she  has  had  some  most  ex 
cellent  offers,  but  she  has  always  refused  to 
consider  any  of  them.  There  was  one  gentle 
man,  a  man  of  wealth  and  position,  who  had 
proposed  to  her  before  she  married  Mr.  Chester, 
who  came  on  here  to  offer  himself  again,  but  she 
cut  off  everything  he  had  to  say  by  telling  him 
that  as  she  did  not  positively  know  that  her  hus 
band  was  not  living,  she  could  not  allow  a  word 
of  that  sort  to  be  said  to  her.  I  know  this,  be 
cause  she  told  me  so  herself." 

There  was  a  good  deal  more  talk  of  the  sort, 
and  of  course  it  interested  me  greatly,  although  I 
tried  not  to  show  it,  but  I  could  not  help  wonder 
ing  why  the  subject  had  been  brought  forward 
in  such  an  impressive  manner  upon  the  present 
occasion.  It  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  some 
thing  personal  in  it — personal  to  me.  Had  that 
boy  Percy  been  making  reports  ? 

In  the  evening  I  found  out  all  about  it,  and  in 
a  very  straightforward  and  direct  fashion.  I 
L  161 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

discovered  Miss  Edith  by  herself,  and  asked  her 
if  all  that  talk  about  Mrs.  Chester  had  been  in 
tended  for  my  benefit,  and,  if  so,  why. 

She  laughed.  "  I  expected  you  to  come  and 
ask  me  about  that,"  she  said,  "  for  of  course  you 
could  see  through  a  good  deal  of  it.  It  is  all 
father's  kindness  and  goodness.  Percy  was  a 
little  out  of  temper  when  he  came  back,  and  he 
spun  a  yarn  about  your  being  sweet  on  Mrs. 
Chester,  and  how  he  could  hardly  get  you  away 
from  her,  and  all  that.  He  had  an  idea  that  you 
wanted  to  go  there  and  live,  at  least  for  the  sum 
mer.  Something  a  boy  said  to  him  made  him 
think  that.  So  father  thought  that  if  you  had 
any  notions  about  Mrs.  Chester  you  ought  to 
have  the  matter  placed  properly  before  you  with 
out  any  delay,  and  I  expect  his  reason  for  men 
tioning  it  at  the  supper-table  was  that  it  might 
then  seem  like  a  general  subject  of  conversation, 
whereas  it  would  have  been  very  pointed  in 
deed  if  he  had  taken  you  apart  and  talked  to  you 
about  it." 

*  Indeed  it  would,"  said  I.  "  And  if  you  will 
allow  me,  I  will  say  that  boys  are  unmitigated 
nuisances  !  If  they  are  not  hearing  what  they 
ought  not  to  hear,  they  are  imagining  what  they 
ought  not  to  imagine — " 
162 


A   Man   with   a  Letter 

"And  telling  things  that  they  ought  not  to 
tell/'  she  added,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Which  is  an  extremely  bad  thing,"  said  I, 
"  when  there  is  nothing  to  tell." 

For  the  rest  of  that  evening  I  was  more  lively 
than  is  my  wont,  for  it  was  a  very  easy  thing  to 
be  lively  in  that  family.  I  do  not  think  I  gave 
any  one  reason  to  suppose  that  I  was  a  man 
whose  attention  had  been  called  to  a  notice  not 
to  trespass. 

As  usual,  I  communed  with  myself  before 
going  to  bed.  Wherefore  this  feeling  of  dis 
appointment  ?  What  did  it  mean  ?  Would  I 
have  said  anything  of  importance,  of  moment,  to 
Mrs.  Chester,  if  the  boy  Percy  had  given  me  an 
opportunity  ?  What  would  I  have  said  ?  What 
could  I  have  said  ?  I  could  see  that  she  did  not 
wish  that  I  should  say  anything,  and  now  I 
knew  the  reason  for  it.  It  was  all  plain  enough 
on  her  side.  Even  if  she  had  allowed  herself 
any  sort  of  emotion  regarding  me,  she  did  not 
wish  me  to  indulge  in  anything  of  the  kind. 
But  as  for  myself.  I  could  decide  nothing  about 
myself. 

I  smiled  grimly  as  my  eyes  fell  upon  the  little 
box  of  capsules.  My  first  thought  was  that  I 
should  take  two  of  them,  but  then  I  shook  my 

163 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

head.  *  It  would  be  utterly  useless/'  I  said  ; 
"  they  would  do  me  no  good." 

In  the  course  of  the  next  morning  I  found  my 
self  alone.  I  put  on  my  cap,  lighted  a  pipe,  and 
started  down  the  flag  walk  to  the  gate.  In  a  few 
moments  I  heard  running  steps  behind  me,  and, 
turning,  I  saw  Miss  Edith.  "  Don't  look  cross," 
she  said.  "  Were  you  going  for  a  walk  ?" 

I  scouted  the  idea  of  crossness,  and  said  that  I 
had  thought  of  taking  a  stroll. 

"  That  seems  funny,"  said  she,  "  for  nobody  in 
this  house  ever  goes  out  for  a  lonely  walk.  But 
you  cannot  go  just  yet.  There's  a  man  at  the 
back  of  the  house  with  a  letter  for  you." 

"A  letter!"  I  exclaimed.  "Who  in  the  world 
could  have  sent  a  letter  to  me  here  ?" 

a  The  only  way  to  find  out,"  she  answered,  "  is 
to  go  and  see." 

Under  a  tree  at  the  back  of  the  house  I  found  a 
young  negro  man,  very  warm  and  dusty,  who 
handed  me  a  letter,  which,  to  my  surprise,  bore 
no  address.  "  How  do  you  know  this  is  for  me  ?" 
said  I. 

He  was  a  good-natured  looking  fellow.     "  Oh, 

I  know  it's  for  you,  sir,"  said  he.     "  They  told 

me  at  the  little  tavern — the  Holly  something — 

that  I'd  find  you  here.     You're  the  gentleman 

164 


A  Man  with   a   Letter 

that  had  a  bicycle  tire  eat  up  by  a  bear,  ain't 
you?" 

I  admitted  that  I  was,  and  still,  without  open 
ing  the  letter,  I  asked  him  where  it  came  from. 

"  That  was  given  to  me  in  New  York,  sir,"  said 
he, "  by  a  Dago,  one  of  these  I-talians.  He  gave 
me  the  money  to  go  to  Blackburn  Station  in  the 
cars,  and  then  I  walked  over  to  the  tavern.  He 
said  he  thought  I'd  find  you  there,  sir.  He  told 
me  just  what  sort  of  a  lookin'  man  you  was,  sir, 
and  that  letter  is  for  you,  and  no  mistake.  He 
didn't  know  your  name,  or  he'd  put  it  on." 

"  Oh,  it  is  from  the  owner  of  the  bear,"  said  I. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  man,  "  that's  him.  He  did 
own  a  bear — he  told  me — that  eat  up  your  tire." 

I  now  tore  open  the  blank  envelope,  and  found 
it  contained  a  letter  on  a  single  sheet,  and  in  this 
was  a  folded  paper,  very  dirty.  The  letter  was 
apparently  written  in  Italian,  and  had  no  signa 
ture.  I  ran  my  eye  along  the  opening  lines, 
and  soon  found  that  it  would  be  a  very  difficult 
piece  of  business  for  me  to  read  it.  I  was  a 
fair  French  and  German  scholar,  but  my  knowl 
edge  of  Italian  was  due  entirely  to  its  relation 
ship  with  Latin.  I  told  the  man  to  rest  himself 
somewhere,  and  went  to  the  house,  and,  finding 
Miss  Edith,  I  informed  her  that  1  had  a  letter 
165 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

from  the  bear  man,  and  asked  her  if  she  could 
read  Italian. 

"  I  studied  the  language  at  school/'  she  said, 
"  but  I  have  not  practised  much.  However,  let 
us  go  into  the  library — there  is  a  dictionary  there 
— and  perhaps  we  can  spell  it  out." 

We  spread  the  open  sheet  upon  the  library-table, 
and  laid  the  folded  paper  near  by,  and,  sitting  side 
by  side,  with  a  dictionary  before  us,  we  went  to 
work.  It  was  very  hard  work. 

"  I  think,"  said  my  companion,  after  ten  min 
utes'  application,  "  that  the  man  who  sent  you 
this  letter  writes  Italian  about  as  badly  as  we 
read  it.  I  think  I  could  decipher  the  meaning 
of  his  words  if  I  knew  what  letters  those  funny 
scratches  were  intended  to  represent.  But  let  us 
stick  to  it.  After  a  while  we  may  get  a  little  used 
to  the  writing,  and  I  must  admit  that  I  have  a 
curiosity  to  know  what  the  man  has  to  say  about 
his  bear." 

After  a  time  the  work  became  easier.  Miss 
Edith  possessed  an  acuteness  of  perception  which 
enabled  her  to  decipher  almost  illegible  words  by 
comparing  them  with  others  which  were  better 
written.  We  were  at  last  enabled  to  translate  the 
letter.  The  substance  of  it  was  as  follows  : 

The  writer  came  to  New  York  on  a  ship.    There 
166 


DECIPHERING  THE    DAGO'S   LETTERS 


A  Man    with    a   Letter 

was  a  man  on  the  ship,  an  Italian  man,  who  was 
very  wicked.  He  did  very  wicked  things  to  the 
writer.  When  he  got  to  New  York  he  kept  on 
being  wicked.  He  was  so  wicked  that  the  writer 
made  up  his  mind  to  kill  him.  He  waited  for 
him  one  night  for  two  hours. 

At  last  the  moment  came.  It  was  very  dark, 
and  the  victim  came,  walking  fast.  The  avenger 
sprang  from  a  door-way  and  plunged  his  knife 
into  the  back  of  the  victim.  The  man  fell,  and 
the  moment  he  fell  the  writer  of  the  letter  knew 
that  he  was  not  the  man  he  had  intended  to  kill. 
The  wicked  man  would  not  have  been  killed  so 
easily.  He  turned  over  the  man.  He  was  dead. 
His  eyes  were  used  to  the  darkness,  and  he  could 
see  that  he  was  the  wrong  man. 

The  coat  of  the  murdered  man  had  fallen  open, 
and  a  paper  showed  itself  in  an  inside  pocket. 
The  Italian  waited  only  long  enough  to  snatch 
this  paper.  He  wanted  to  have  something 
which  had  belonged  to  that  poor,  wrongly  mur 
dered  man.  After  that  he  heard  no  more  about 
the  great  mistake  he  had  committed.  He  could 
not  read  the  newspapers,  and  he  asked  nobody 
any  questions.  He  put  the  paper  away  and  kept 
it.  He  often  thought  he  ought  to  burn  the  paper, 
but  he  did  not  do  it.  He  was  afraid.  The  paper 
167 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

had  a  name  on  it,  and  he  was  sure  it  was  the 
name  of  the  man  he  had  killed.  He  thought  as 
long  as  he  kept  the  paper  there  was  a  chance  for 
his  forgiveness. 

This  was  all  four  years  ago.  He  worked  hard, 
and  after  a  while  he  bought  a  bear.  When  his 
bear  ate  up  the  India-rubber  on  my  bicycle  he 
was  very  much  frightened,  for  he  was  afraid  he 
might  be  sent  to  prison.  But  that  was  not  the 
fright  that  made  him  run  away. 

When  he  talked  to  the  boy  and  asked  him  the 
name  of  the  keeper  of  the  inn,  and  the  boy 
told  him  what  it  was,  the  earth  seemed  to  open 
and  he  saw  hell.  The  name  was  the  name  that 
was  on  the  paper  he  had  taken  from  the  man  he 
had  killed  by  mistake,  and  this  was  his  wife 
whose  house  he  was  staying  at.  He  was  seized 
with  such  a  horror  and  such  a  fear  that  every 
thing  might  be  found  out,  and  that  he  would  be 
arrested,  that  he  ran  away  to  the  railroad  and 
took  a  train  for  New  York. 

He  did  not  want  his  bear.  He  did  not  want  to 
be  known  as  the  man  who  had  been  going  about 
with  a  bear.  One  thing  he  wanted,  and  that  was  to 
get  back  to  Italy,  where  he  would  be  safe.  He  was 
going  back  very  soon  in  a  ship.  He  had  changed 
his  name.  He  could  not  be  found  any  more. 
168 


A   Man   with    a   Letter 

But  he  knew  his  soul  would  never  have  any 
peace  if  he  did  not  send  the  paper  to  the  wife  of 
the  man  he  had  made  a  mistake  about.  But  he 
could  not  write  a  letter  to  her,  so  he  sent  it  to  me, 
for  me  to  give  her  the  paper  and  to  tell  her  what 
he  had  written  in  the  letter.  He  left  America 
forever.  Nobody  in  this  country  would  ever  see 
him  again.  He  was  gone.  He  was  lost  to  all 
people  in  this  country,  but  his  soul  felt  better 
now  that  he  had  done  that  which  would  make 
the  lady  whose  husband  he  had  killed  know  how 
it  had  happened.  The  bear  he  would  give  to 
her.  That  was  all  that  he  could  do  for  her. 

There  was  no  formal  close  to  the  letter;  the 
writer  had  said  what  he  had  to  say  and  stopped. 

Miss  Edith  and  I  looked  at  each  other.  Her 
eyes  had  grown  large  and  bright.  "  Now,  shall 
we  examine  the  paper  ?" 

"  I  do  not  know  that  we  have  a  right  to  do  so,0 
I  said.  I  know  my  voice  was  trembling,  for  I  was 
very  much  agitated.  "  That  belongs  to — to  her !" 

"  I  think,"  said  Miss  Edith,  "  that  we  ought  to 
look  at  it.  It  is  merely  a  folded  paper.  I  do  not 
think  we  ought  to  thrust  information  upon  Mrs. 
Chester  without  knowing  what  it  is.  Perhaps 
the  man  made  a  mistake  in  the  name.  We  may 
do  a  great  deal  of  mischief  if  we  do  not  know  ex- 
169 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

actly  what  we  are  about."    And  so  saying  she 
took  the  paper  and  opened  it. 

It  was  nothing  but  a  grocery  bill,  but  it  was 
made  out  to — Godfrey  Chester,  Dr.  Evidently  it 
was  for  goods  supplied  to  the  inn.  It  was  re 
ceipted. 

For  a  few  moments  I  said  nothing,  and  then  I 
exclaimed,  in  tones  which  made  my  companion 
gaze  very  earnestly  at  me  :  "  I  must  go  to  her 
immediately  !  I  must  take  these  papers  !  She 
must  know  everything  1" 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  Miss  Edith,  "  but  don't  you 
think  that  something  ought  to  be  done  about  ap 
prehending  this  man — this  Italian  ?  Let  us  go 
and  question  his  messenger."  We  went  out  to 
gether,  she  carrying,  tightly  clasped,  both  the 
letter  and  the  bill. 

The  black  man  could  tell  us  very  little.  An 
Italian  he  had  never  seen  before  had  given  him 
the  letter  to  take  to  Holly  Sprig  Inn,  and  give  to 
the  gentleman  who  had  had  his  tire  eaten  by  a 
bear.  If  the  gentleman  was  not  there,  he  was  to 
ask  to  have  it  sent  to  him.  That  was  everything 
he  knew. 

"  Did  the  Italian  give  you  money  to  go  back 
with?"  asked  Miss  Edith,  and  the  man  rather 
reluctantly  admitted  that  he  did. 
170 


A   Man   with   a   Letter 

"  Well,  you  can  keep  that  for  yourself,"  said 
she,  "  and  we'll  pay  your  passage  back.  But  we 
would  like  you  to  wait  here  for  a  while.  There 
may  be  some  sort  of  an  answer." 

The  man  laughed.  'Taint  no  use  sendin' 
no  answer,"  said  he  ;  "I  couldn't  find  that  Dago 
again.  They're  all  so  much  alike.  He  said  he 
was  goin'  away  on  a  ship.  You  see  it  was  yes 
terday  he  gave  me  that  letter.  I  'spect  he'll  be  a 
long  way  out  to  sea  before  I  get  back,  even  if  I  did 
know  who  he  was  and  what  ship  he  was  goin'  on. 
But  if  you  want  me  to  wait,  I  don't  mind  waitin'." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Miss  Edith ;  "  you  can  go 
into  the  kitchen  and  have  something  to  eat." 
And,  calling  a  maid,  she  gave  orders  for  the  man's 
entertainment. 

"  Now,"  said  she,  turning  to  me,  "  let  us  take  a 
walk  through  the  orchard.  I  want  to  talk  to  you." 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  I  can't  talk  at  present.  I  must 
go  immediately  to  the  inn  with  those  papers.  It 
is  right  that  not  a  moment  should  be  lost  in  de 
livering  this  most  momentous  message  which  has 
been  intrusted  to  me." 

"  But  I  must  speak  to  you  first,"  said  she,  and 
she  walked  rapidly  towards  the  orchard.  As  she 
still  held  the  papers  in  her  hand,  I  was  obliged  to 
follow  her. 

171 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MISS  EDITH  IS  DISAPPOINTED 

|S  soon  as  we  had  begun  to  walk 
under  the  apple-trees  she  turned 
to  me  and  said  :  *  I  don't  think 
you  ought  to  take  this  letter  and 
the  bill  to  Mrs.  Chester.  It  would 
not  be  right.  There  would  be  something  cruel 
about  it." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  I  exclaimed. 
"  Of  course  I  do  not  know  exactly  the  state  of 
the  case/'  she  answered,  "  but  I  will  tell  you  what 
I  think  about  it  as  far  as  I  know.  You  must  not 
be  offended  at  what  I  say.  If  I  am  a  friend  to 
anybody — and  I  would  be  ashamed  if  I  were  not 
a  friend  to  you — I  must  tell  him  just  what  I  think 
about  things,  and  this  is  what  I  think  about  this 
thing  :  I  ought  to  take  these  papers  to  Mrs.  Ches 
ter.  I  know  her  well  enough,  and  it  is  a  woman 
who  ought  to  go  to  her  at  such  a  time." 

"  That  message  was  intrusted  to  me,"  I  said. 
172 


I    DON'T   THINK    YOU    OUGHT   TO    TAKE   THIS    LETTER 


Miss   Edith    is   Disappointed 

*  Of  course  it  was/'  she  answered,  "  but  the 
bear  man  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing.     He 
did  not  understand  the  circumstances." 

"  What  circumstances  ?"  I  asked. 

She  gave  me  a  look  as  if  she  were  going  to  take 
aim  at  me  and  wanted  to  be  sure  of  my  position. 
Then  she  said  :  "  Percy  told  us  he  thought  you 
were  courting  Mrs.  Chester.  That  was  pure  im 
pertinence  on  his  part,  and  perhaps  what  father 
said  at  the  table  was  impertinence  too,  but  I  know 
he  said  it  because  he  thought  there  might  be 
something  in  Percy's  chatter,  and  that  you  ought 
to  understand  how  things  stood.  Now,  you  may 
think  it  impertinence  on  my  part  if  you  choose, 
but  it  really  does  seem  to  me  that  you  are  very 
much  interested  in  Mrs.  Chester.  Didn't  you  in 
tend  to  walk  down  to  the  Holly  Sprig  when  you 
were  starting  out  by  yourself  this  morning  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "f  did." 

*  I  thought  so,"  she  replied.     "  That,  of  course, 
was  your  own  business,  and  what  father  said 
about  her  being  unwilling  to  marry  again  need 
not  have  made   any  difference  to  you  if  you 
had  chosen  not  to  mind  it.     But  now,  don't  you 
think,  if  you  look  at  the  matter  fairly  and  square 
ly,  it  would  be  pretty  hard  on  Mrs.  Chester  if  you 
were  to  go  down  to  her  and  make  her  understand 

173 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

that  she  really  is  a  widow,  and  that  now  she  is 
free  to  listen  to  you  if  you  want  to  say  anything 
to  her  ?  This  may  sound  a  little  hard  and  cruel, 
but  don't  you  think  it  is  the  way  she  would  have 
to  look  at  it  ?" 

She  stopped  as  she  spoke,  and  I  turned  and 
stood  silent,  looking  at  her. 

"  My  first  thought  was,"  she  said,  "  to  advise 
you  to  tell  father  about  all  this,  and  take  his  ad 
vice  about  telling  her,  but  I  don't  think  you  would 
like  that.  Now,  would  you  like  that  ?" 

*  No,"  I  answered,  "  I  certainly  would  not." 

*  And  don't  you  really  think  I  ought  to  go  to 
her  with  the  message,  and  then  come  back  and 
tell  you  how  she  took  it  and  what  she  said  ?" 

For  nearly  a  minute  I  did  not  speak,  but  I  knew 
she  was  right,  and  at  last  I  admitted  it. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so  1"  she  exclaim 
ed.  "  As  soon  as  dinner  is  over  I  shall  drive  to 
the  Holly  Sprig." 

We  still  walked  on,  and  she  proposed  that  we 
should  go  to  the  top  of  a  hill  beyond  the  orchard, 
where  there  was  a  pretty  view. 

"  You  may  think  me  a  strange  sort  of  a  girl," 
she  said,  presently,  "  but  I  can't  help  it.  I  sup 
pose  I  am  strange.  I  have  often  thought  I  would 
like  very  much  to  talk  freely  and  honestly  with  a 
174 


Miss   Edith   is    Disappointed 

man  about  the  reasons  which  people  have  for  fall 
ing  in  love  with  each  other.  Of  course  I  could 
not  ask  my  father  or  brother,  because  they  would 
simply  laugh  at  me  and  tell  me  that  falling  in 
love  was  very  much  like  the  springing  up  of 
weeds — generally  without  reason  and  often  ob 
jectionable.  But  you  would  be  more  likely  to 
tell  me  something  which  would  be  of  advantage 
to  me  in  my  studies." 

*  Your  studies  P  I  exclaimed.  "  What  in  the 
world  are  you  studying  ?" 

"  Well,  I  am  studying  human  nature — not  as  a 
whole,  of  course,  that's  too  large  a  subject,  but 
certain  phases  of  it — and  I  particularly  want  to 
know  why  such  queer  people  come  together  and 
get  married.  Now  I  have  great  advantages  in 
such  a  study,  much  greater  than  most  girls  have/' 

"What  are  they?"  I  asked. 

"  The  principal  one  is  that  I  never  intend  to 
marry.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  that  a  good  while 
ago.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  work  that  I  want 
to  do  in  this  world,  and  I  could  not  do  it  properly 
if  I  were  tied  to  a  man.  I  would  either  have  to 
submit  myself  to  his  ways,  or  he  would  have  to 
submit  himself  to  my  ways,  and  that  would  not 
suit  me.  In  the  one  case  I  should  not  respect 
him,  and  in  the  other  I  should  not  respect  myself." 
175 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

*  But  suppose/'  said  I,  "  you  should  meet  a 
man  who  should  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  you 
in  all  important  points?" 

"  Ah,"  she  said,  "  that  sort  of  thing  never  hap 
pens.  You  might  as  well  expect  to  pick  up  two 
pebbles  exactly  alike.  I  don't  believe  in  it. 
But  if  at  any  time  during  the  rest  of  my  life  you 
show  me  any  examples  of  such  harmony,  I  will 
change  my  opinions.  I  believe  that  if  I  can  wait 
long  enough,  society  will  catch  up  with  me. 
Everything  looks  that  way  to  me." 

"  It  may  be  that  you  are  right,"  I  answered. 
"  Society  is  getting  on  famously.  But  what  is  it 
you  want  to  ask  me  ?" 

"  Simply  this,"  she  replied.  "  What  is  it  which 
interests  you  so  much  in  Mrs.  Chester  ?" 

I  looked  at  her  in  astonishment.  "  Truly,"  I 
exclaimed,  "  that  is  a  remarkable  question." 

"  I  know  it,"  she  replied,  "  and  I  suppose  you 
are  saying  to  yourself,  '  Here  is  a  girl  who  has 
known  me  less  than  three  days,  and  yet  she  asks 
me  to  tell  her  about  my  feeling  towards  another 
woman/  But,  really,  it  seems  to  me  that  as 
you  have  not  known  that  other  woman  three 
days,  as  much  friendship  and  confidence  might 
spring  up  in  the  one  case  as  affection  in  the 
other." 

176 


Miss   Edith   is   Disappointed 

*  Affection  !"  said  I.  "Have  I  said  anything 
about  affection  ?" 

"  No,  you  have  not,"  she  replied ;  "  and  if  there 
isn't  any  affection,  of  course  that  ends  this  special 
study  on  my  part." 

We  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  but  I  forgot  to 
look  out  upon  the  view.  "  I  think  you  are  a 
strange  girl ,"  I  said,  "  but  I  like  you,  and  I  have  a 
mind  to  try  to  answer  your  question.  I  have  not 
been  able  quite  to  satisfy  myself  about  my  feel 
ings  towards  Mrs.  Chester,  but  now  I  think  I  can 
say  that  I  have  an  affection  for  her." 

"Good!"  she  exclaimed.  "I  like  that!  That  is 
an  honest  answer  if  ever  there  was  one.  But  tell 
me  why  it  is  that  you  have  an  affection  for  her. 
It  must  have  been  almost  a  case  of  love  at  first 
sight." 

"  It  isn't  easy  to  give  reasons  for  such  feelings," 
I  said.  "  They  spring  up,  as  your  father  would 
say,  very  much  like  weeds." 

"  Indeed  they  do,"  she  interpolated ;  "  some 
times  they  grow  in  the  middle  of  a  gravel  path 
where  they  cannot  expect  to  be  allowed  to 
stay." 

I  reflected  a  moment.     "  I  don't  mind  talking 
about  these  things  to  you,"  I  said.     "  It  seems 
almost  like  talking  to  myself." 
M  177 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  That  is  a  compliment  I  appreciate/'  she  said. 
"  And  now  go  on.  Why  do  you  care  for  her  ?" 

*  Well/'  said  I,  "  in  the  first  place,  she  is  very 
handsome.  Don't  you  think  so  ?" 

"  Oh  yes  !  In  fact,  I  think  she  is  almost  what 
might  be  called  exactly  beautiful." 

"Then  she  has  such  charming  manners/'  I 
continued.  "And  she  is  so  sensible — although 
you  may  not  think  I  had  much  chance  to  find  out 
that.  Moreover,  there  is  a  certain  sympathetic 
cordiality  about  her — " 

"  Which,  of  course,"  interrupted  my  companion, 
"  you  suppose  she  would  not  show  to  any  man 
but  you." 

"  Yes,"  said  I.  "I  am  speaking  honestly  now, 
and  that's  the  way  it  strikes  me.  Of  course  I 
may  be  a  fool,  but  I  did  think  that  a  sympathy 
had  arisen  between  us  which  would  not  arise 
between  her  and  anybody  else." 

Miss  Edith  laughed  heartily.  "  I  am  getting 
to  know  a  great  deal  about  one  side  of  the  sub 
ject,"  she  said.  "  And  now  tell  me — is  that  all  ? 
I  don't  believe  it  is." 

"  No,"  I  answered,  "  it  is  not.  There  is  some 
thing  more  which  makes  her  attractive  to  me. 
I  cannot  exactly  explain  it  except  by  saying  that 
it  is  her  surrounding  atmosphere — it  is  every- 

T78 


Miss  Edith  is   Disappointed 

thing  that  pertains  to  her.  It  is  the  life  she  lives, 
it  is  her  home,  it  is  the  beauty  and  peace,  the 
sense  of  charm  which  infuses  her  and  everything 
that  belongs  to  her." 

"  Beautiful  !"  said  Miss  Edith.  *  I  expected 
an  answer  like  that,  but  not  so  well  put.  Now  let 
me  translate  it  into  plain,  simple  language.  What 
you  want  is  to  give  up  your  present  life,  which 
must  be  awfully  stupid,  and  go  and  help  Mrs. 
Chester  keep  the  Holly  Sprig.  That  would  suit 
you  exactly.  A  charming  wife,  charming  sur 
roundings,  charming  sense  of  living,  a  life  of 
absolute  independence  !  But  don't  think,"  she 
added,  quickly,  "  that  I  am  imputing  any  sordid 
motives  to  you.  I  meant  nothing  of  the  kind. 
You  would  do  just  as  much  to  make  the  inn 
popular  as  she  would.  I  expect  you  would  make 
her  rich." 

"  Miss  Edith  Larramie,"  said  I,  "  you  are  a 
heartless  deceiver  1  It  makes  my  blood  run 
cold  to  hear  you  speak  in  that  way." 

"  Never  mind  that,"  she  said,  "  but  tell  me, 
didn't  you  think  it  would  be  just  lovely  to  live 
with  her  in  that  delightful  little  inn  T 

I  could  not  help  smiling  at  her  earnestness, 
but  I  answered  that  I  did  think  so. 

She  nodded  her  head  reflectively.  "  Yes,"  she 
179 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

said,  "  I  was  right.  I  think  you  ought  to  admit 
that  I  am  a  good  judge  of  human  nature — at 
least,  in  some  people  and  under  certain  circum 
stances." 

"You  are,"  said  I.  "I  admit  that.  Now 
answer  me  a  question.  What  do  you  think  of  it?" 

"  I  don't  like  it,"  she  said.  "  And  don't  you  see," 
she  added,  with  animation,  "  what  an  advantage 
I  possess  in  having  determined  never  to  marry  ? 
Very  few  other  girls  would  be  willing  to  speak 
to  you  so  plainly.  They  would  be  afraid  you 
would  think  that  they  wanted  you,  but,  as  I  don't 
want  anybody,  you  and  I  can  talk  over  things 
of  this  kind  like  free  and  equal  human  beings. 
So  I  will  say  again  that  I  don't  like  your  affec 
tion  for  Mrs.  Chester.  It  disappoints  me." 

"  Disappoints  you  1"  I  exclaimed. 

*  Yes,"  she  said,  "  that  is  the  word.  You  must 
remember  that  my  acquaintance  with  you  began 
with  a  sort  of  a  bump.  A  great  deal  happened 
in  an  instant.  I  formed  high  ideas  of  you,  and 
among  them  were  ideas  of  the  future.  You  can't 
help  that  when  you  are  thinking  of  people  who 
interest  you.  Your  mind  will  run  ahead.  When  I 
found  out  about  Mrs.  Chester  I  was  disappointed. 
It  might  be  all  very  delightful,  but  you  ought  to 
do  better  than  that  V 

180 


"  'DO    YOU    THINK    YOU    COULU    HIT   IT    WITH    AN    APPLE?' 


Miss  Edith   is   Disappointed 

*  How  old  are  you  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Twenty-two  last  May/'  she  replied. 

"  Isn't  that  the  dinner-bell  I  hear  in  the  dis 
tance  r  I  said. 

"  Yes/'  she  answered,  "and  we  will  go  down." 

On  the  way  she  stopped,  and  we  stood  facing 
each  other.  "  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you/'  she 
said,  "  for  giving  me  your  confidence  in  this  way, 
and  I  want  you  to  believe  that  I  shall  be  thor 
oughly  loyal  to  you,  and  that  I  never  will  breathe 
anything  you  have  said.  But  I  also  want  you 
to  know  that  I  do  not  change  any  of  my  opin 
ions.  Now  we  understand  each  other,  don't 
we?" 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  but  I  think  I  understand 
you  better  than  you  understand  me." 

*  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  she  replied ;  "  that's  nonsense. 
Do  you  see  that  flower-pot  on  the  top  of  the  stump 
by  the  little  hill  over  there  ?    Percy  has  been 
firing  at  it  with  his  air-gun.     Do  you  think  you 
could  hit  it  with  an  apple  ?    Let's  each  take 
three  apples  and  try." 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  Miss  Edith 
returned  from  the  Holly  Sprig,  where  she  and 
Genevieve  had  driven  in  a  pony-cart.  I  was 
with  the  rest  of  the  family  on  the  golf  links  a 
short  distance  from  the  house,  and  it  was  some 
181 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

time  before  she  got  a  chance  to  speak  to  me,  but 
she  managed  at  last. 

"  How  did  she  take  the  news  ?"  I  eagerly  asked. 

The  girl  hesitated.  "  I  don't  think  I  ought  to 
tell  you  all  she  said  and  did.  It  was  really  a 
private  interview  between  us  two,  and  I  know 
she  would  not  want  me  to  say  much  about  it. 
And  I  don't  think  you  would  want  to  hear  every 
thing." 

I  hastened  to  assure  her  that  I  would  not  ask 
for  the  particulars  of  the  conversation.  I  only 
wished  to  know  the  general  effect  of  the  message 
upon  her.  That  was  legitimate  enough,  as,  in 
fact,  she  received  the  message  through  me. 

"  Well,  she  was  very  much  affected,  and  it 
would  have  been  dreadful  if  you  had  gone.  On 
the  whole,  however,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that 
the  Italian's  letter  was  a  great  relief  to  her,  par 
ticularly  because  she  found  that  her  husband 
had  been  killed  by  mistake.  She  said  that  one 
of  the  greatest  loads  upon  her  soul  had  been  the 
feeling  that  he  had  had  an  enemy  who  hated  him 
enough  to  kill  him.  But  now  the  case  is  very  dif 
ferent,  and  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  her  to  know  it." 

"  And  about  the  murderer  ?"  I  said.  "  Did  you 
ask  her  if  she  wanted  steps  taken  to  apprehend 
him?" 

182 


Miss   Edith  is   Disappointed 

"  Yes/'  she  said,  "  I  did  speak  of  it,  and  she  is 
very  anxious  that  nothing  shall  be  done  in  that 
direction.  Even  if  the  Italian  should  be  caught, 
she  would  not  have  the  affair  again  publicly  dis 
cussed  and  dissected.  She  believes  the  man's 
story,  and  she  never  wants  to  hear  of  him  again. 
Indeed,  I  think  that  if  it  should  be  proved  that  the 
Italian  killed  Mr.  Chester  on  purpose,  it  would  be 
the  greatest  blow  that  could  be  inflicted  upon  her." 

"  Then/'  said  I,  "  I  might  as  well  let  the  negro 
man  go  his  way.  I  have  not  paid  him  his  pas 
sage-money  to  the  city.  I  knew  he  would  wait 
until  he  got  it,  and  it  might  be  desirable  to  take 
him  into  custody." 

"  Oh  no,"  she  said.  "  Mrs.  Chester  spoke 
about  that.  She  doesn't  want  the  man  troubled 
in  any  way.  He  knew  nothing  of  the  message 
he  carried.  Now  I  am  going  to  tell  father  about 
it — she  asked  me  to  do  it." 

That  evening  was  a  merry  one.  We  had 
charades,  and  a  good  many  other  things  were 
going  on.  Miss  Willoughby  was  an  admirable 
actress,  and  Miss  Edith  was  not  bad,  although 
she  could  never  get  rid  of  her  personality.  I 
was  in  a  singular  state  of  mind.  I  felt  as  if  I  had 
been  relieved  from  a  weight.  My  spirits  were 
actually  buoyant. 

183 


A   Bicycle    of   Cathay 

*  You  should  not  be  so  unreasonably  gay/1 
said  Miss  Edith  to  me.     "  That  may  be  your 
way  when  you  get  better  acquainted  with  people, 
but  I  am  afraid  some  of  the  family  will  think 
that  you  are  in  such  good  spirits  because  Mrs. 
Chester  now  knows  that  she  is  a  widow." 

*  Oh,  there  is  no  danger  of  their  thinking  any 
thing  of  that  sort,"  I  said.     "  Don't  you  suppose 
they  will  attribute  my  good  spirits  to  the  fact  that 
the  man  who  took  my  bicycle  to  Waterton  brought 
back  my  big  valise,  so  that  I  am  enabled  to  look 
like  a  gentleman  in  the  parlor?    And  then,  as 
he  also  brought  word  that  my  bicycle  will  be 
all  ready  for  me  to-morrow,  don't  you   think 
it  is  to  be  expected  of  me  that  I  should  try  to  make 
myself  as  agreeable  as  possible  on  this  my  last 
evening  with  all  you  good  friends  ?" 

She  shook  her  head.  "  Those  excuses  will  not 
pass.  You  are  abnormally  cheerful.  My  study 
of  you  is  extremely  interesting,  but  not  altogether 
satisfactory." 


CHAPTER  XV 

MISS  WILLOUGHBY 

IT  was  decreed  the  next  day  that  I 
should  not  leave  until  after  din 
ner.  They  would  send  me  over 
to  Blackburn  Station  by  a  cross 
road,  and  I  could  then  reach  Wa- 
terton  in  less  than  an  hour.  "  There  is  another 
good  thing  about  this  arrangement/'  said  Miss 
Edith,  for  it  was  she  who  announced  it  to  me, 
"  and  that  is  that  you  can  take  charge  of  Amy." 
I  gazed  at  her  mystified,  and  she  said,  "  Don't 
you  know  that  Miss  Willoughby  is  going  in  the 
same  train  with  you  ?" 

"  What  1"  I  exclaimed,  far  too  forcibly. 
"  Yes.  Her  visit  ends  to-day.  She  lives  in 
Waterton.  But  why  should  that  affect  you  so 
wonderfully  ?  I  am  sure  you  cannot  object  to 
an  hour  in  the  train  with  Amy  Willoughby.  She 
may  talk  a  good  deal,  but  you  must  admit  that 
she  talks  well." 

185 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

"  Object !"  I  said.  "  Of  course  I  don't  object. 
She  talks  very  well  indeed,  and  I  shall  be  glad 
to  have  the  pleasure  of  her  company." 

"  No  one  would  have  thought  so,"  she  said, 
looking  at  me  with  a  criticising  eye,  "  who  had 
seen  you  when  you  heard  she  was  going." 

"  It  was  the  suddenness,"  I  said. 

"  Oh  yes,"  she  replied,  "  and  your  delicate 
nerves." 

In  my  soul  I  cried  out  to  myself  :  "  Am  I  ever 
to  break  free  from  young  women  !  Is  there  to 
be  a  railroad  accident  between  here  and  Waterton  1 
If  so,  I  shall  save  the  nearest  old  gentleman !" 

I  believe  the  Larramies  were  truly  sorry  to 
have  me  go.  Each  one  of  them  in  turn  told  me 
so.  Mrs.  Larramie  again  said  to  me,  with  tears 
in  her  eyes,  that  it  made  her  shudder  to  think 
what  that  home  might  be  if  it  had  not  been  for  me. 

Mr.  Larramie  and  Walter  promised  to  get  up 
some  fine  excursions  if  I  would  stay  a  little  longer, 
and  Genevieve  made  me  sit  down  beside  her  un 
der  a  tree. 

"  I  am  awfully  sorry  you  are  going,"  she  said. 
"  I  always  wanted  a  gentleman  friend,  and  I 
believe  if  you'd  stay  a  little  longer  you'd  be  one. 
You  see,  Walter  is  really  too  old  for  me  to  con 
fide  in,  and  Percy  thinks  he's  too  old — and  that's 
186 


Miss   Willoughby 

a  great  deal  worse.  But  you're  just  the  age  I 
like.  There  are  so  many  things  I  would  say 
to  you  if  you  lived  here." 

Little  Clara  cried  when  she  heard  I  was  going, 
and  I  felt  myself  obliged  to  commit  the  shame 
ful  deception  of  talking  about  baby  bears  and 
my  possible  return  to  this  place. 

Miss  Edith  accompanied  us  to  the  station,  and 
when  I  took  leave  of  her  on  the  platform  she 
gave  me  a  good,  hearty  handshake.  "  I  believe 
that  we  shall  see  each  other  again, "  she  said, 
*  and  when  we  meet  I  want  you  to  make  a  report, 
and  I  hope  it  will  be  a  good  one  1" 

"About  what?"  I  asked. 

She  smiled  in  gentle  derision,  and  the  con 
ductor  cried,  "All  aboard!" 

I  found  a  vacant  seat,  and,  side  by  side,  Miss 
Willoughby  and  I  sped  on  towards  Waterton. 

For  some  time  I  had  noticed  that  Miss  Wil 
loughby  had  ceased  to  look  past  me  when  she 
spoke  to  me,  and  now  she  fixed  her  eyes  fully 
upon  me  and  said  : 

"  I  am  always  sorry  when  I  go  away  from  that 
house,  for  I  think  the  people  who  live  there  are 
the  dearest  in  the  world,  excepting  my  own  moth 
er  and  aunt,  who  are  nearer  to  me  than  anybody 
else,  although,  if  I  needed  a  mother,  Mrs.  Lar- 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

ramie  would  take  me  to  her  heart,  I  am  sure, 
just  as  if  I  were  her  own  daughter,  and  I  am  not 
related  to  them  in  any  way,  although  I  have 
always  looked  upon  Edith  as  a  sister,  and  I  don't 
believe  that  if  I  had  a  real  sister  she  could  pos 
sibly  have  been  as  dear  a  girl  as  Edith,  who  is 
so  lovable  and  tender  and  forgiving — whenever 
there  is  anything  to  forgive — and  who,  although 
she  is  a  girl  of  such  strong  character  and  such 
a  very  peculiar  way  of  thinking  about  things, 
has  never  said  a  hard  word  to  me  in  all  her  life, 
even  when  she  found  that  our  opinions  were  dif 
ferent,  which  was  something  she  often  did  find, 
for  she  looks  upon  everything  in  this  world  in 
her  own  way,  and  bases  all  her  judgments  upon 
her  own  observations  and  convictions,  while  I 
am  very  willing  to  let  those  whom  I  think  I  ought 
to  look  up  to  and  respect  judge  for  me — at  least 
in  a  great  many  things,  but  of  course  not  in 
all  matters,  for  there  are  some  things  which  we 
must  decide  for  ourselves  without  reference  to 
other  people's  opinions,  though  I  should  be  sorry 
indeed  if  I  had  so  many  things  to  decide  as  Edith 
has,  or  rather  chooses  to  have,  for  if  she  would 
depend  more  upon  other  people  I  think  it  would 
not  only  be  easier  for  her,  but  really  make  her 
happier,  for  if  you  could  hear  some  of  the  won- 
188 


TALKING  ABOUT  BABY  BEARS 


Miss  Willoughby 

derful  things  which  she  has  discussed  with  me 
after  we  have  gone  to  bed  at  night  it  would  really 
make  your  head  ache — that  is,  if  you  are  sub 
ject  to  that  sort  of  thing,  which  I  am  if  I  am  kepi 
awake  too  long,  but  I  am  proud  to  say  that  I 
don't  think  I  ever  allowed  Edith  to  suppose  that 
I  was  tired  of  hearing  her  talk,  for  when  any  one 
is  as  lovely  as  she  is  I  think  she  ought  to  be  al 
lowed  to  talk  about  what  she  pleases  and  just  as 
long  as  she  pleases." 

Surprising  as  it  may  appear,  nothing  happened 
on  that  railroad  journey.  No  cow  of  Cathay 
blundered  in  front  of  the  locomotive ;  no  freight- 
train  came  around  a  curve  going  in  the  oppo 
site  direction  upon  the  same  track ;  everything 
went  smoothly  and  according  to  schedule.  Miss 
Willoughby  did  not  talk  all  the  time.  She  was 
not  the  greatest  talker  I  ever  knew;  she  was 
not  even  the  fastest;  she  was  always  willing 
to  wait  until  her  turn  came,  but  she  had  won 
derful  endurance  for  a  steady  stretch.  She 
never  made  a  bad  start,  she  never  broke,  she 
went  steadily  over  the  track  until  the  heat  had 
been  run. 

When  the  time  came  for  me  to  speak  she  listened 
with  great  interest,  and  sometimes  at  my  words 
her  eyes  sparkled  almost  as  much  as  they  did 
189 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

when  she  was  speaking  herself.  She  knew  a 
great  many  things,  and  I  was  pleased  to  find 
out  that  she  was  especially  interested  in  the 
good  qualities  of  the  people  she  knew.  I  never 
heard  so  many  gracious  sentiments  in  so  short 
a  time. 

Miss  Willoughby's  residence  was  but  a  short 
distance  from  the  station  at  Waterton;  and  as 
she  thought  it  entirely  unnecessary  to  take  a 
cab,  I  attended  to  her  baggage,  and  offered  to 
walk  with  her  to  her  home  and  carry  her  little 
bag.  I  was  about  to  leave  her  at  the  door,  but 
this  she  positively  forbade.  I  must  step  in  for 
a  minute  or  two  to  see  her  mother  and  her  aunt. 
They  had  heard  of  me,  and  would  never  forgive 
her  if  she  let  me  go  without  their  seeing  me.  As 
the  door  opened  immediately,  we  went  in. 

Miss  Willoughby's  mother  and  aunt  were  two 
most  charming  elderly  ladies,  immaculately 
dainty  in  their  dress,  cordial  of  manner,  bright 
of  eye,  and  diminutive  of  hand,  producing  the 
impression  of  gentle  goodness  set  off  by  soft 
white  muslin,  folded  tenderly. 

They  had  heard  of  me.     In  the  few  days  in 

which  I  had  been  with  the  Larramies,  Miss  Wil- 

loughby  had  written  of  me.     They  insisted  that 

I  should  stay  to  supper,  for  what  good  reason 

190 


Miss   Willoughby 

could  there  be  for  my  taking  that  meal  at  the 
hotel — not  a  very  good  one — when  they  would  be 
so  glad  to  have  me  sup  with  them  and  talk  about 
our  mutual  friends  ? 

I  had  no  reasonable  objection  to  offer,  and,  re 
turning  to  the  station,  I  took  my  baggage  to  the 
hotel,  where  I  prepared  to  sup  with  the  Willough 
by  family. 

They  were  now  a  little  family  of  three,  although 
there  was  a  brother  who  had  started  away  the 
day  before  on  a  bicycling  tour  very  like  my  own, 
and  they  were  both  so  delighted  to  have  Amy 
visit  the  Larramies,  and  they  were  both  so  de 
lighted  to  have  her  come  back. 

The  supper  was  a  delicate  one,  suitable  for 
canary  birds,  but  at  an  early  stage  of  the  meal 
a  savory  little  sirloin  steak  was  brought  on  which 
had  been  cooked  especially  for  me.  Of  course 
I  could  not  be  expected  to  be  satisfied  with  thin 
dainties,  no  matter  how  tasteful  they  might  be. 

This  house  was  the  abode  of  intelligence,  cul 
tivated  taste,  and  opulence.  It  was  probably 
the  finest  mansion  of  the  town.  In  every  room 
there  were  things  to  see,  and  after  supper  we 
looked  at  them,  and,  as  I  wandered  from  pictures 
to  vases  and  carved  ivory,  the  remarks  of  the 
two  elder  ladies  and  Miss  Willoughby  seemed 
191 


A   Bicycle    of  Cathay 

like  a  harmonized  chorus  accompanying  the 
rest  of  the  performance.  Each  spoke  at  the  right 
time,  each  in  her  turn  said  the  thing  she  ought 
to  say.  It  was  a  rare  exhibition  of  hospitable 
enthusiasm,  tempered  by  sympathetic  consid 
eration  for  me  and  for  each  other. 

I  soon  discovered  that  many  of  the  water-color 
drawings  on  the  walls  were  the  work  of  Miss 
Willoughby,  and  when  she  saw  I  was  interested 
in  them  she  produced  a  portfolio  of  her  sketches. 
I  liked  her  coloring  very  much.  It  was  some 
times  better  than  her  drawing.  It  was  dainty, 
delicate,  and  suggestive.  One  picture  attracted 
me  the  moment  my  eyes  fell  upon  it ;  it  was  one 
of  the  most  carefully  executed,  and  it  represented 
the  Holly  Sprig  Inn. 

"  You  recognize  that  1"  said  Miss  Willoughby, 
evidently  pleased.  "  You  see  that  light-colored 
spot  in  the  portico  ?  That's  Mrs.  Chester  ;  she 
stood  there  when  I  was  making  the  drawing.  It 
is  nothing  but  two  or  three  little  dabs,  but  that 
is  the  way  she  looked  at  a  distance.  Around 
on  this  side  is  the  corner  of  the  yard  where 
the  bear  tried  to  eat  up  the  tire  of  your  bi 
cycle." 

I  gazed  and  gazed  at  the  little  light-colored 
spot  in  the  portico.     I  gave  it  form,  light,  feeling. 
192 


I    HELD    THAT    PICTURE    A    GOOD    WHILK*" 


Miss  Willoughby 

I  could  see  perfect  features,  blue  eyes  which  look 
ed  out  at  me,  a  form  of  simple  grace. 

I  held  that  picture  a  good  while,  saying  little, 
and  scarcely  listening  to  Miss  Willoughby 's 
words.  At  last  I  felt  obliged  to  replace  it  in  the 
portfolio.  If  the  artist  had  been  a  poor  girl,  I 
would  have  offered  to  buy  it ;  if  I  had  known  her 
better,  I  would  have  asked  her  to  give  it  to  me ; 
but  I  could  do  nothing  but  put  it  back. 

Glancing  at  the  clock  I  saw  that  it  was  time 
for  me  to  go,  but  when  I  announced  this  fact  the 
ladies  very  much  demurred.  Why  should  I  go 
to  that  uncomfortable  hotel  ?  They  would  send 
for  my  baggage.  There  was  not  the  least  reason 
in  the  world  why  I  should  spend  the  night  in  that 
second-rate  establishment. 

"  See,"  said  Mrs.  Willoughby,  opening  the  door 
of  a  room  in  the  rear  of  the  parlor, "  if  you  will  stay 
with  us  to-night  we  will  lodge  you  in  the  chamber 
of  the  favored  guest.  All  the  pictures  on  the 
walls  were  done  by  my  daughter." 

I  looked  into  the  room.  It  was  the  most  charm 
ing  and  luxurious  bedroom  I  had  ever  seen.  It 
was  lighted,  and  the  harmony  of  its  furnishings 
was  a  treat  to  the  eye. 

But  I  stood  firm  in  my  purpose  to  depart.  I 
would  not  spend  the  night  in  that  house.  There 
N  193 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

would  be  a  fire,  burglars,  I  knew  not  what! 
Against  all  kind  entreaties  I  urged  the  absolute 
necessity  of  my  starting  away  by  the  very  break 
of  day,  and  I  could  not  disturb  a  private  family 
by  any  such  proceeding.  They  saw  that  I  was 
determined  to  go,  and  they  allowed  me  to  depart. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

AN  ICICLE 

JY  room  at  the  hotel  was  as  dreary 
as  a  stubble-field  upon  a  Novem 
ber  evening.  The  whole  house 
was  new,  varnished,  and  hard. 
My  bedroom  was  small.  A  piece 
of  new  ingrain  carpet  covered  part  of  the  hard 
varnished  floor.  Four  hard  walls  and  a  ceiling, 
deadly  white,  surrounded  me.  The  hard  var 
nished  bedstead  (the  mattress  felt  as  if  it  were 
varnished)  nearly  filled  the  little  room.  Two 
stiff  chairs,  and  a  yellow  window -shade  which 
looked  as  if  it  were  made  of  varnished  wood,  glit 
tered  in  the  feeble  light  of  a  glass  lamp,  while 
the  ghastly  grayish  pallor  of  the  ewer  and 
basin  on  the  wash-stand  was  thrown  into  bold 
relief  by  the  intenser  whiteness  of  the  wall  be 
hind  it. 

I  put  out  my  light  as  soon  as  possible  and 
resolutely  closed  my  eyes,  for  a  street  lamp  oppo- 
195 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

site  my  window  would  not  allow  the  room  to  fade 
into  obscurity,  and,  as  long  as  the  hardness  of  the 
bed  prevented  me  from  sleeping,  my  thoughts 
ran  back  to  the  chamber  of  the  favored  guest, 
but  my  conscience  stood  by  me.  Cathay  is  a 
country  where  it  is  necessary  to  be  very  careful. 

I  did  not  leave  Waterton  until  after  nine  o'clock 
the  next  day,  for,  although  I  was  early  at  the 
shop  to  which  my  bicycle  had  been  sent,  it  was 
not  quite  ready  for  me,  and  I  had  to  wait.  Fortu 
nately  no  Willoughby  came  that  way. 

But  when  at  last  I  mounted  my  wheel  I  sped 
away  rapidly  towards  the  north.  I  had  ordered 
my  baggage  expressed  to  a  town  fifty  miles 
away,  and  I  hoped  that  if  I  rode  steadily  and  kept 
my  eyes  straight  in  front  of  me  I  might  safely  get 
out  of  Cathay,  for  the  boundaries  of  that  fateful 
territory  could  not  extend  themselves  indefinitely. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  afternoon  I  saw  a  fe 
male  in  front  of  me,  her  back  to  me,  walking, 
and  pushing  a  bicycle. 

"  Now,"  said  I  to  myself,  "  she  is  doing  that 
because  she  likes  it,  and  it  is  none  of  my  busi 
ness."  I  gazed  over  the  fields  on  the  other  side 
of  the  road,  but  as  I  passed  her  I  could  not  help 
giving  a  glance  at  her  machine.  The  air  was 
gone  from  the  tire  of  the  hind  wheel. 


An   Icicle 

*  Ah,"  said  I  to  myself, "  perhaps  her  pump  is 
out  of  order,  or  it  may  be  that  she  does  not  know 
how  to  work  it.  It  is  getting  late.  She  may 
have  to  go  a  long  distance.  I  could  pump  it  up 
for  her  in  no  time.  Even  if  there  is  a  hole  in  it  I 
could  mend  it."  But  I  did  not  stop.  I  had 
steeled  my  heart  against  any  more  adventures 
in  Cathay. 

But  my  conscience  did  not  stand  by  me.  I 
could  not  forget  that  poor  woman  plodding  along 
the  weary  road  and  darkness  not  far  away.  I 
went  slower  and  slower,  and  at  last  I  turned. 

"  It  would  not  take  me  five  minutes  to  help  her," 
I  said.  "  I  must  be  careful,  but  I  need  not  be  a 
churl."  And  I  rode  rapidly  back. 

I  came  in  sight  of  her  just  as  she  was  turning 
into  the  gateway  of  a  pretty  house  yard.  Doubt 
less  she  lived  there.  I  turned  again  and  spun 
away  faster  than  I  had  gone  that  day. 

For  more  than  a  month  I  journeyed  and  so 
journed  in  a  beautiful  river  valley  and  among  the 
low  foot-hills  of  the  mountains.  The  weather 
was  fair,  the  scenery  was  pleasing,  and  at  last  I 
came  to  believe  that  I  had  passed  the  boundaries 
of  Cathay.  I  took  no  tablets  from  my  little  box. 
I  did  not  feel  that  I  had  need  of  them. 

In  the  course  of  time  I  ceased  to  travel  north- 
197 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

ward.  My  vacation  was  not  very  near  its  end, 
but  I  chose  to  turn  my  face  towards  the  scene  of 
my  coming  duties.  I  made  a  wide  circuit,  I  rode 
slowly,  and  I  stopped  often. 

One  day  I  passed  through  a  village,  and  at  the 
outer  edge  of  it  a  little  girl,  about  four  years  old, 
tried  to  cross  the  road.  Tripping,  she  fell  down 
almost  in  front  of  me.  It  was  only  by  a  powerful 
and  sudden  exertion  that  I  prevented  myself  from 
going  over  her,  and  as  I  wheeled  across  the  road 
my  machine  came  within  two  feet  of  her.  She 
lay  there  yelling  in  the  dust.  I  dismounted,  and, 
picking  her  up  I  carried  her  to  the  other  side  of 
the  road.  There  I  left  her  to  toddle  homeward 
while  I  went  on  my  way.  I  could  not  but  sigh  as 
I  thought  that  I  was  again  in  Cathay. 

Two  days  after  this  I  entered  Waterton.  There 
was  another  road,  said  to  be  a  very  pleasant  one, 
which  lay  to  the  westward,  and  which  would 
have  taken  me  to  Walford  through  a  country 
new  to  me,  but  I  wished  to  make  no  further  ex 
plorations  in  Cathay,  and  if  one  journeys  back 
upon  a  road  by  which  he  came  he  will  find  the 
scenery  very  different. 

I  spent  the  night  at  the  hotel,  and  after  break 
fast  I  very  reluctantly  went  to  call  upon  the  Wil- 
loughbys.  I  forced  myself  to  do  this,  for,  con- 
iq8 


An   Icicle 

sidering  the  cordiality  they  had  shown  me,  it 
would  have  required  more  incivility  than  I  pos 
sessed  to  pass  through  the  town  without  paying 
my  respects.  But  to  my  great  joy  none  of  the 
ladies  was  at  home.  I  hastened  from  the  house 
with  a  buoyant  step,  and  was  soon  speeding 
away,  and  away,  and  away. 

The  road  was  dry  and  hard,  the  sun  was  bright, 
but  there  was  a  fresh  breeze  in  my  face,  and  I 
rolled  along  at  a  swift  and  steady  rate.  On,  on 
I  went,  until,  before  the  sun  had  reached  its  high 
est  point,  I  wheeled  out  of  the  main  road,  rolled 
up  a  gravel  path,  and  dismounted  in  front  of  the 
Holly  Sprig  Inn. 

I  leaned  my  bicycle  against  a  tree  and  went 
in-doors.  The  place  did  not  seem  so  quiet  as 
when  I  first  saw  it.  I  had  noticed  a  lady  sitting 
under  a  tree  in  front  of  the  house.  There  was 
a  nurse-maid  attending  a  child  who  was  play 
ing  on  the  grass.  Entering  the  hall,  I  glanced 
into  the  large  room  which  I  had  called  the  *  of 
fice,"  and  saw  a  man  there  writing  at  a  table. 

Presently  a  maid-servant  came  into  the  hall. 
She  was  not  one  I  had  noticed  before.  I  asked 
if  I  could  see  Mrs.  Chester,  and  she  said  she 
would  go  and  look  for  her.  There  were  chairs 
in  the  hall,  and  I  might  have  waited  for  her 
199 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

there,  but  I  did  not.  I  entered  the  parlor,  and 
was  pleased  to  find  it  unoccupied.  I  went  to 
the  upper  end  of  the  room,  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  door. 

In  a  few  minutes  I  heard  a  step  in  the  hall.  I 
knew  it,  and  it  was  strange  how  soon  I  had 
learned  to  know  it.  She  stopped  in  front  of  the 
office,  then  she  went  on  towards  the  porch,  and 
turning -she  came  into  the  parlor,  first  looking 
towards  the  front  of  the  room  and  then  towards 
the  place  where  I  stood. 

The  light  from  a  window  near  me  fell  directly 
upon  her  as  she  approached  me,  and  I  could  see 
that  there  was  a  slight  flush  on  her  face,  but  be 
fore  she  reached  me  it  had  disappeared.  She 
did  not  greet  me.  She  did  not  offer  me  her  hand. 
In  fact  from  what  afterwards  happened,  I  be 
lieve  that  she  did  not  consider  me  at  that  moment 
a  fit  subject  for  ordinary  greeting.  She  stood 
up  in  front  of  me.  She  gazed  steadfastly  into 
my  lace.  Her  features  wore  something  of  their 
ordinary  pleasant  expression,  but  to  this  there 
was  added  a  certain  determination  which  I  had 
never  seen  there  before.  She  gave  her  head  a 
little  quick  shake. 

"  No,  sir  !"  she  said. 

This  reception  amazed  me.  I  had  been  greatly 
200 


An   Icicle 

agitated  as  I  heard  her  approach,  turning  over 
in  my  mind  what  I  should  first  say  to  her,  but 
now  I  forgot  everything  I  had  prepared.  "  No 
what  ?"  I  exclaimed. 

"  'No'  means  that  I  will  not  marry  you." 
I  stood  speechless.  "  Of  course  you  are  think 
ing,"  she  continued,  "  that  you  have  never  asked 
me  to  marry  you.  But  that  isn't  at  all  neces 
sary.  As  soon  as  I  saw  you  standing  there, 
back  two  weeks  before  your  vacation  is  over, 
and  when  I  got  a  good  look  at  your  face,  I  knew 
exactly  what  you  had  come  for.  I  was  afraid 
when  you  left  here  that  you  would  come  back 
for  that,  so  I  was  not  altogether  unprepared.  I 
spoke  promptly  so  as  to  spare  you  and  to  make 
it  easier  for  me." 

"  Easier  !"  I  repeated.     "  What  do  you  mean?" 
"  Easier,  because  the  sooner  you  know  that  I 
will  not  marry  you  the  better  it  will  be  for  you 
and  for  me." 

Now  I  could  restrain  myself  no  longer.  *  Why 
can't  I  marry  you  ?"  I  asked,  speaking  very 
rapidly,  and,  I  am  afraid,  with  imprudent  en 
ergy.  "  Is  it  any  sort  of  condition  or  circum 
stance  which  prevents?  Do  you  think  that  I 
am  forcing  myself  upon  you  at  a  time  when  I 
ought  not  to  do  it?  If  so,  you  have  mistaken 
201 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

me.  Ever  since  I  left  here  I  have  thought  of 
scarcely  anything  but  you,  and  I  have  returned 
thus  early  simply  to  tell  you  that  I  love  you !  I 
had  to  do  that !  I  could  not  wait !  But  as  to 
all  else,  I  can  wait,  and  wait,  and  wait,  as  long 
as  you  please.  You  can  tell  me  to  go  away  and 
come  back  at  whatever  time  you  think  it  will  be 
right  for  you  to  give  me  an  answer." 

"  This  is  the  right  time,"  she  said,  "  and  I  have 
given  you  your  answer.  But,  unfortunately, 
I  did  not  prevent  you  from  saying  what  you 
came  to  say.  So  now  I  will  tell  you  that  the 
conditions  and  circumstances  to  which  you  al 
lude  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  I  have 
a  reason  for  my  decision  which  is  of  so  much 
more  importance  than  any  other  reason  that  it 
is  the  only  one  which  need  be  considered." 

"  What  is  that  ?"  I  asked,  quickly. 

"  It  is  because  I  keep  a  tavern,"  she  answered. 
"  It  would  be  wrong  and  wicked  for  you  to  marry 
a  woman  who  keeps  a  tavern." 

Now  my  face  flushed.  I  could  feel  it  burning. 
"  Keep  a  tavern  !"  I  exclaimed.  "  That  is  a 
horrible  way  to  put  it  I  But  why  should  you 
think  for  an  instant  that  I  cared  for  that?  Do 
you  suppose  I  consider  that  a  dishonorable 
calling?  I  would  be  only  too  glad  to  adopt 
202 


An   Icicle 

it  myself  and  help  you  keep  a  tavern,  as  you 
call  it." 

"  That  is  the  trouble !"  she  exclaimed.  *  That 
is  the  greatest  trouble.  I  believe  you  would.  I 
believe  that  you  think  that  the  life  would  just 
suit  you." 

"  Then  sweep  away  the  tavern  !"  I  exclaimed. 
"  Banish  it.  Leave  it.  Put  it  out  of  all  thought 
or  consideration.  I  can  wait  for  you.  I  can 
make  a  place  and  a  position  for  you.  I  can — " 

"  No,  you  cannot,"  she  interrupted.  "At  least, 
not  for  a  long  time,  unless  one  of  your  scholars 
dies  and  leaves  you  a  legacy.  It  is  the  future 
that  I  am  thinking  about.  No  matter  what  you 
might  sweep  away,  and  to  what  position  you 
might  attain,  it  could  always  be  said,  '  He  mar 
ried  a  woman  who  used  to  keep  a  tavern. '  Now, 
every  one  who  is  a  friend  to  you,  who  knows 
what  is  before  you,  if  you  choose  to  try  for  it, 
should  do  everything  that  can  be  done  to  pre 
vent  such  a  thing  ever  being  said  of  you.  I 
am  a  friend  to  you,  and  I  am  going  to  pre 
vent  it." 

I  stood  unable  to  say  one  word.     Her  voice,  her 

eyes,  even  the  manner  in  which  she  stood  before 

me,  assured  me  that  she  meant  everything  she 

said.     It  was  almost  impossible  to  believe  that 

203 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

such  an  amiable  creature  could  turn  into  such 
an  icicle. 

"  I  do  not  want  you  to  feel  worse  than  you  can 
help/'  she  said,  "  but  it  was  necessary  for  me  to 
speak  as  firmly  and  decidedly  as  I  could,  and 
now  it  is  all  settled." 

I  knew  it  was  all  settled.  I  knew  it  as  well  as  if 
it  had  been  settled  for  years.  But,  with  my  eyes 
still  ardently  fixed  on  her,  I  remembered  the  little 
flush  when  she  came  into  the  room. 

*  Tell  me  one  thing,"  said  I,  "  and  I  will  go.  If 
it  were  not  for  what  you  say  about  your  position 
in  life,  and  all  that — if  there  had  not  been  such  a 
place  as  this  inn — then  could  you — " 

She  moved  away  from  me.  "  You  are  as  great 
a  bear  as  the  other  one  !"  she  exclaimed,  and 
turning  she  left  the  room  by  a  door  in  the  rear. 
But  in  the  next  moment  she  ran  back,  holding 
out  her  hand.  "  Good-bye !"  she  said. 

I  took  her  hand,  but  held  it  not  a  second.  Then 
she  was  gone.  I  stood  looking  at  the  door  which 
she  had  closed  behind  her,  and  then  I  left  the 
house.  There  was  no  reason  why  I  should  stay 
in  that  place  another  minute. 

As  I  was  about  to  mount  my  bicycle  the  boy 
came  around  the  corner  of  the  inn.  Upon  his  face 
was  a  diabolical  grin.  The  thought  rushed  into 
204 


An   Icicle 

my  mind  that  he  might  have  been  standing  be 
neath  the  parlor  window.  Instinctively  I  made 
a  movement  towards  him,  but  he  did  not  run.  I 
turned  my  eyes  away  from  him  and  mounted.  I 
could  not  kill  a  boy  in  the  presence  of  a  nurse 
maid. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

'  A  FORECASTER   OF   HUMAN   PROBABILITIES 

WAS  about  to  turn  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Waif  ord,  but  then  into  my 
trouble-tossed  mind  there  came 
the  recollection  that  I  had  in 
tended,  no  matter  what  hap 
pened,  to  call  on  the  Larramies  before  I  went 
home.  I  owed  it  to  them,  and  at  this  moment 
their  house  seemed  like  a  port  of  refuge. 

The  Larramies  received  me  with  wide-opened 
eyes  and  outstretched  hands.  They  were  amazed 
to  see  me  beiore  the  end  of  my  vacation,  for  no 
member  of  that  family  had  ever  come  back  from 
a  vacation  before  it  was  over ;  but  they  showed 
that  they  were  delighted  to  have  me  with  them, 
be  it  sooner  or  later  than  they  had  expected,  and 
I  had  not  been  in  the  house  ten  minutes  before  I 
received  three  separate  invitations  to  make  that 
house  my  home  until  school  began  again. 
The  house  was  even  livelier  than  when  I  left  it. 
206 


AForecaster  of  Human  Probabilities 

There  was  a  married  couple  visiting  there,  en 
thusiastic  devotees  of  golf ;  one  of  Mr.  Walter's 
college  friends  was  with  him ;  and,  to  my  sur 
prise,  Miss  Amy  Willoughby  was  there  again. 

Genevieve  received  me  with  the  greatest 
warmth,  and  I  could  see  that  her  hopes  of  a  gentle 
man  friend  revived.  Little  Clara  demanded  to 
be  kissed  as  soon  as  she  saw  me,  and  I  think  she 
now  looked  upon  me  as  a  permanent  uncle  or 
something  of  that  kind.  As  soon  as  possible  I 
was  escorted  by  the  greater  part  of  the  family  to 
see  the  bear. 

Miss  Edith  had  welcomed  me  as  if  I  had  been  an 
old  friend.  It  warmed  my  heart  to  receive  the 
frank  and  cordial  handshake  she  gave  me.  She 
said  very  little,  but  there  was  a  certain  interroga 
tion  in  her  eyes  which  assured  me  that  she  had 
much  to  ask  when  the  time  came.  As  for  me,  I 
was  in  no  hurry  for  that  time  to  come.  I  did  not 
feel  like  answering  questions,  and  with  as  much 
animation  as  I  could  assume  I  talked  to  every 
body  as  we  went  to  see  the  bear. 

This  animal  had  grown  very  fat  and  super- 
contented,  but  I  found  that  the  family  were  in 
the  condition  of  Gentleman  Waife  in  Bulwer's 
novel,  and  were  now  wondering  what  they  would 
do  with  it. 

207 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  You  see/'  cried  Percy,  who  was  the  principal 
showman,  "the  neighbors  are  all  on  pins  and 
needles  about  him.  Ever  since  the  McKenna 
sisters  spread  the  story  that  Orso  was  in  the  habit 
of  getting  under  beds,  there  isn't  a  person  within 
five  miles  of  here  who  can  go  to  bed  without  look 
ing  under  it  to  see  if  there  is  a  bear  there.  There 
are  two  houses  for  sale  about  a  mile  down  the 
road,  and  we  don't  know  any  reason  why  people 
should  want  to  go  away  except  it's  the  bear. 
Nearly  all  the  dogs  around  here  are  kept  chained 
up  for  fear  that  Orso  will  get  hold  of  them,  and 
there  is  a  general  commotion,  I  can  tell  you.  At 
first  it  was  great  fun,  but  it  is  getting  a  little  tire 
some  now.  We  have  been  talking  about  shoot 
ing  him,  and  then  I  shall  have  his  bones,  which 
I  am  going  to  set  up  as  a  skeleton,  and  it 
is  my  opinion  that  you  ought  to  have  the 
skin." 

Several  demurrers  now  arose,  for  nobody  seem 
ed  to  think  that  I  would  want  such  an  ugly  skin 
as  that. 

*  Ugly  !"  cried  Percy,  who  was  evidently  very 
anxious  to  pursue  his  study  of  comparative 
anatomy.  "  It's  a  magnificent  skin.  Look  at 
that  long,  heavy  fur.  Why,  if  you  take  that 
skin  and  have  it  all  cleaned,  and  combed  out, 
208 


A  Forecaster  of  Human  Probabilities 

and  dyed  some  nice  color,  it  will  be  fit  to  put  into 
any  room." 

Genevieve  was  in  favor  of  combing  and  clean 
ing,  oiling  and  dyeing  the  hide  of  the  bear  with 
out  taking  it  off. 

"  If  you  would  do  that,"  she  declared,  "  he 
would  be  a  beautiful  bear,  and  we  would  give  him 
away.  They  would  be  glad  to  have  him  at 
Central  Park." 

The  Larramies  would  not  listen  to  my  leaving 
that  day.  There  were  a  good  many  people  in  the 
house,  but  there  was  room  enough  for  me,  and, 
when  we  had  left  the  bear  without  solving  the 
problem  of  his  final  disposition,  there  were  so 
many  things  to  be  done  and  so  many  things  to 
be  said  that  it  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before 
Miss  Edith  found  the  opportunity  of  speaking 
to  me  for  which  she  had  been  waiting  so  long. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  as  we  walked  together  away 
from  the  golf  links,  but  not  towards  the  house, 
*  what  have  you  to  report  ?" 

"  Report  ?"  I  repeated,  evasively. 

"  Yes,  you  promised  to  do  that,  and  I  always 
expect  people  to  fulfil  their  promises  to  me.  You 
came  here  by  the  way  of  the  Holly  Sprig  Inn, 
didn't  you?" 

I  assented.  "A  very  roundabout  way/'  she 
O  209 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

said.  "  It  would  have  been  seven  miles  nearer  if 
you  had  come  by  the  cross-road.  But  I  suppose 
you  thought  you  must  go  there  first." 

*  That  is  what  I  thought,"  I  answered. 

*  Have  you  been  thinking  about  her  all  the 
time  you  have  been  away  ?" 

"  Nearly  all  the  time." 

"And  actually  cut  off  a  big  slice  of  your  va 
cation  in  order  to  see  her  ?" 

I  replied  that  this  was  precisely  the  state  of  the 
case. 

"But, after  all, you  weren't  successful.  You 
need  not  tell  me  anything  about  that — I  knew  it 
as  soon  as  I  saw  you  this  morning.  But  I  will 
ask  you  to  answer  one  thing :  Is  the  decision 
final?" 

I  sighed — I  could  not  help  it,  but  she  did  not 
even  smile.  *  Yes,"  I  said,  "  the  affair  is  settled 
definitely." 

For  a  minute  or  so  we  walked  on  silently,  and 
then  she  said  :  "  I  do  not  want  you  to  think  I  am 
hard-hearted,  but  I  must  say  what  is  in  me.  I 
congratulate  you,  and,  at  the  same  time,  I  am 
sorry  for  her." 

At  this  amazing  speech  I  turned  suddenly 
towards  her,  and  we  both  stopped. 

*  Yes,w  said  she,  standing  before  me  with  her 

210 


A  Forecaster  of  Human  Probabilities 

clear  eyes  fixed  upon  my  face,  "you  are  to  be 
congratulated.  I  think  it  is  likely  she  is  the 
most  charming  young  woman  you  are  ever  likely 
to  meet — and  I  know  a  great  deal  more  about  her 
than  you  do,  for  I  have  known  her  for  a  long 
time,  and  your  acquaintance  is  a  very  short  one 
— she  has  qualities  you  do  not  know  anything 
about ;  she  is  lovely !  But  for  all  that  it  would 
be  very  wrong  for  you  to  marry  her,  and  I  am 
glad  she  had  sense  enough  not  to  let  you  do  it." 

"Why  do  you  say  that?"  I  asked,  a  little 
sharply. 

"  Of  course  you  don't  like  it,"  she  replied,  *  but 
it  is  true.  She  may  be  as  lovely  as  you  think 
her — and  I  am  sure  she  is.  She  may  be  of  good 
family,  finely  educated,  and  a  great  many  more 
things,  but  all  that  goes  for  nothing  beside  the 
fact  that  for  over  five  years  she  has  been  the  land 
lady  of  a  little  hotel." 

"  I  do  not  care  a  snap  for  that  1"  I  exclaimed. 
*  I  like  her  all  the  better  for  it.  I—" 

"  That  makes  it  worse,"  she  interrupted,  and  as 
she  spoke  I  could  not  but  recollect  that  a  similar 
remark  had  been  made  to  me  before.  "  I  have 
not  the  slightest  doubt  that  you  would  have 
been  perfectly  willing  to  settle  down  as  the  land 
lord  of  a  little  hotel.  But  if  you  had  not — even 

•i  211 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

if  you  had  gone  on  in  the  course  which  father 
has  marked  out  for  you,  and  you  ought  to  hear 
him  talk  about  you — you  might  have  become 
famous,  rich,  nobody  knows  what,  perhaps  Pres 
ident  of  a  college,  but  still  everybody  would 
have  known  that  your  wife  was  the  young 
woman  who  used  to  keep  the  Holly  Sprig  Inn, 
and  asked  the  people  who  came  there  if  they 
objected  to  a  back  room,  and  if  they  wanted  tea  or 
coffee  for  their  breakfast.  Of  course  Mrs.  Chester 
thought  too  much  of  you  to  let  you  consider  any 
such  foolishness." 

I  made  no  answer  to  this  remark.  I  thought 
the  young  woman  was  taking  a  great  deal  upon 
herself. 

"  Of  course,"  she  continued,  *  it  would  have 
been  a  great  thing  for  Mrs.  Chester,  and  I  honor 
her  that  she  stood  up  stiffly  and  did  the  thing 
she  ought  to  do.  I  do  not  know  what  she  said 
when  she  gave  you  her  final  answer,  but  what 
ever  it  was  it  was  the  finest  compliment  she 
could  have  paid  you." 

I  smiled  grimly.  "  She  likened  me  to  a  bear," 
I  said.  "  Do  you  call  that  a  compliment  ?" 

Edith  Larramie  looked  at  me,  her  eyes  spark 
ling.  "Tell  me  one  thing,"  she  said.  "When 
she  spoke  to  you  in  that  way  weren't  you  try- 
212 


A  Forecaster  of  Human  Probabilities 

ing  to  find  out  how  she  felt  about  the  matter 
exclusive  of  the  inn  ?" 

I  could  not  help  smiling  again  as  I  assented. 

"  There  I"  she  exclaimed.  "  I  am  beginning  to 
have  the  highest  respect  for  my  abilities  as  a 
forecaster  of  human  probabilities.  It  was  like 
you  to  try  to  find  out  that,  and  it  was  like  her  to 
snub  you.  But  let's  walk  on.  Would  you  like 
me  to  give  you  some  advice." 

*  I  am  afraid  your  advice  is  not  worth  very 
much/'  I  answered,  *  but  I  will  hear  it." 

"  Well,  then/'  she  said,  "  I  advise  you  to  fall  in 
love  with  somebody  else  just  as  soon  as  you  can. 
That  is  the  best  way  to  get  this  affair  out  of  your 
mind,  and  until  you  do  that  you  won't  be  worth 
anything." 

I  felt  that  I  now  knew  this  girl  so  well  that  I 
could  say  anything  to  her.  "  Very  well,  then," 
said  I ;  "  suppose  I  fall  in  love  with  you  ?" 

"  That  isn't  a  very  nice  speech,"  she  said. 
"  There  is  a  little  bit  of  spitefulness  in  it.  But  it 
doesn't  mean  anything,  anyway.  I  am  out  of 
the  competition,  and  that  is  the  reason  I  can 
speak  to  you  so  freely.  Moreover,  that  is  the 
reason  I  know  so  much  about  the  matter.  I  am 
not  biassed.  But  you  need  have  no  trouble — 
there's  Amy." 

213 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

"  Don't  say  Amy  to  me,  I  beg  of  you  1"  I  ex 
claimed. 

"  Why  not  ?"  she  persisted.  "  She  is  very 
pretty.  She  is  as  good  as  she  can  be.  She  is 
rich.  And  if  she  were  your  wife  you  would  want 
her  to  talk  more  than  she  does,  you  would  be  so 
glad  to  listen  to  her.  I  might  say  more  about 
Amy,  but  I  won't." 

"  Would  it  be  very  impolite,"  said  I,  "  if  I 
whistled  ?" 

*  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  "  but  you  needn't 
do  it.  I  will  consider  it  done.  Now  I  will  speak 
of  Bertha  Putney.  I  was  bound  to  mention 
Amy  first,  because  she  is  my  dear  friend,  but 
Miss  Putney  is  a  grand  girl.  And  I  do  not 
mind  telling  you  that  she  takes  a  great  interest 
in  you." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?"  I  asked. 

"  I  have  seen  her  since  you  were  here — she 
lunched  with  us.  As  soon  as  she  heard  your 
name  mentioned — and  that  was  bound  to  hap 
pen,  for  this  family  has  been  talking  about  you 
ever  since  they  first  knew  you — she  began  to  ask 
questions.  Of  course  the  bear  came  up,  and  she 
wanted  to  know  every  blessed  thing  that  hap 
pened.  But  when  she  found  out  that  you  got 
the  bear  at  the  Holly  Sprig  her  manner  changed, 
214 


A  Forecaster  of  Human  Probabilities 

and  she  talked  no  more  about  you  at  the 
table. 

"  But  in  the  afternoon  she  had  a  great  deal  to 
say  to  me.  I  did  not  know  exactly  what  she  was 
driving  at,  and  I  may  have  told  her  too  much. 
We  said  a  great  many  things — some  of  which  I 
remember  and  some  I  do  not — but  I  am  sure  that 
I  never  knew  a  woman  to  take  more  interest  in  a 
man  than  she  takes  in  you.  So  it  is  my  opinion 
that  if  you  would  stop  at  the  Putneys'  on  your 
way  home  you  might  do  a  great  deal  to  help  you 
get  rid  of  the  trouble  you  are  now  in.  It  makes 
me  feel  something  like  a  spy  in  a  camp  to  talk 
this  way,  but  I  told  you  I  was  your  friend,  and  I 
am  going  to  be  one.  Spies  are  all  right  when 
they  are  loyal  to  their  own  side/' 

I  was  very  glad  to  have  such  a  girl  on  my  side, 
but  this  did  not  seem  to  be  a  very  good  time  to 
talk  about  the  advantages  ol  a  call  upon  Miss 
Putney. 

In  spite  of  all  the  entreaties  of  the  Larramie 
family,  I  persisted  in  my  intention  of  going  on  to 
Walford  the  next  morning,  and,  in  reply  to  their 
assurances  that  I  would  find  it  dreadfully  dull  in 
that  little  village  during  the  rest  of  my  vacation, 
I  told  them  that  I  should  be  very  much  occupied 
and  should  have  no  time  to  be  dull.  I  was  going 
215 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

seriously  to  work  to  prepare  myself  for  my  pro 
fession.  For  a  year  or  two  I  had  been  deferring 
this  important  matter,  waiting  until  I  had  laid  by 
enough  money  to  enable  me  to  give  up  school- 
teaching  and  to  apply  myself  entirely  to  the 
studies  which  would  be  necessary.  All  this 
would  give  me  enough  to  do,  and  vacation  was  the 
time  in  which  I  ought  to  do  it.  The  distractions 
of  the  school  session  were  very  much  in  the  way 
of  a  proper  contemplation  of  my  own  affairs. 

"  That  sounds  very  well/'  said  Miss  Edith, 
when  there  was  no  one  by,  "  but  if  you  cannot  get 
the  Holly  Sprig  Inn  out  of  your  mind,  I  do  not 
believe  you  will  do  very  much  'proper  contem 
plation/  Take  my  advice  and  stop  at  the  Put 
ney  s'.  It  can  do  you  no  harm,  and  it  might  help 
to  free  your  mind  of  distractions  a  great  deal 
worse  than  those  of  the  school." 

"  By  filling  it  with  other  distractions,  I  sup 
pose  you  mean,"  I  answered.  "  A  fickle-minded 
person  you  must  think  me.  But  it  pleases  me 
so  much  to  have  you  take  an  interest  in  me  that 
I  do  not  resent  any  of  your  advice." 

She  laughed.     "  I  like  to  give  advice,"  she 

said,  "  but  I  must  admit  that  I  sometimes  think 

better  of  a  person  if  he  does  not  take  it.     But  I 

will  say— and  this  is  all  the  advice  I  am  going  to 

216 


A  Forecaster  of  Human  Probabilities 

give  you  at  present — that  if  you  want  to  be  suc 
cessful  in  making  love,  you  must  change  your 
methods.  You  cannot  expect  to  step  up  in  front 
of  a  girl  and  stop  her  short  as  if  she  were  a  run 
away  horse.  A  horse  doesn't  like  that  sort  of 
thing,  and  a  girl  doesn't  like  it.  You  must  take 
more  time  about  it.  A  runaway  girl  doesn't 
hurt  anybody,  and,  if  you  are  active  enough, 
you  can  jump  in  behind  and  take  the  reins  and 
stop  her  gradually  without  hurting  her  feelings, 
and  then,  most  likely,  you  can  drive  her  for  all 
the  rest  of  your  life." 

"  You  ought  to  have  that  speech  engraved  in 
uncial  characters  on  a  slab  of  stone/'  said  I. 
"Any  museum  would  be  glad  to  have  it." 

I  had  two  reasons  besides  the  one  I  gave  for 
wishing  to  leave  this  hospitable  house.  In  the 
first  place,  Edith  Larramie  troubled  me.  I  did 
not  like  to  have  any  one  know  so  much  about  my 
mental  interior — or  to  think  she  knew  so  much. 
I  did  not  like  to  feel  that  I  was  being  managed. 
I  had  a  strong  belief  that  if  anybody  jumped  into 
a  vehicle  she  was  pulling  he  would  find  that  she 
was  doing  her  own  driving  and  would  allow  no 
interferences.  I  liked  her  very  much,  but  I  was 
sure  that  away  from  her  I  would  feel  freer  in  mind. 

The  other  reason  for  my  leaving  was  Amy 
217 


A  Bicycle    of  Cathay 

Willoughby.  During  my  little  visit  to  her  house 
my  acquaintance  with  her  had  grown  with  great 
rapidity.  Now  I  seemed  to  know  her  very  well, 
and  the  more  I  knew  her  the  better  I  liked  her. 
It  may  be  vanity,  but  I  think  she  wanted  me  to 
like  her,  and  one  reason  for  believing  this  was 
the  fact  that  when  she  was  with  me — and  I  saw 
a  great  deal  of  her  during  the  afternoon  and 
evening  I  spent  with  the  Larramies — she  did  not 
talk  so  much,  and  when  she  did  speak  she  in 
variably  said  something  I  wanted  to  hear. 

Remembering  the  remarks  which  had  been 
made  about  her  by  her  friend  Edith,  I  could  not 
but  admit  that  she  was  a  very  fine  girl,  combin 
ing  a  great  many  attractive  qualities,  but  I  re 
belled  against  every  conviction  I  had  in  regard 
to  her.  I  did  not  want  to  think  about  her  ad 
mirable  qualities.  I  did  not  want  to  believe  that 
in  time  they  would  impress  me  more  forcibly  than 
they  did  now.  I  did  not  want  people  to  imagine 
that  I  would  come  to  be  so  impressed.  If  I  stayed 
there  I  might  almost  look  upon  her  in  the  light 
of  a  duty. 

The  family  farewell  the  next  morning  was  a 
tumultuous  one.  Invitations  to  ride  up  again 
during  my  vacation,  to  come  and  spend  Satur 
days  and  Sundays,  were  intermingled  with 
218 


A  Forecaster  of  Human  Probabilities 

earnest  injunctions  from  Genevieve  in  regard  to 
a  correspondence  which  she  .wished  to  open  with 
me  for  the  benefit  of  her  mind,  and  declarations 
from  Percy  that  he  would  let  me  know  all  about 
the  bear  as  soon  as  it  was  decided  what  would 
be  the  best  thing  to  happen  to  him,  and  entreaties 
from  little  Clara  that  I  would  not  go  away  with 
out  kissing  her  good-bye. 

But  amid  the  confusion  Miss  Edith  found  a 
chance  to  say  a  final  word  to  me.  "  Don't  you 
try/'  she  said,  as  I  was  about  to  mount  my  bi 
cycle,  "  to  keep  those  holly  sprigs  in  your  brain 
until  Christmas.  They  are  awfully  stickery, 
they  will  not  last,  and,  besides,  there  will  not  be 
any  Christmas." 

*  And  how  about  New-Year's  Day  ?"  I  asked. 

*  That  is  the  way  to  talk/'  said  she.     *  Keep 
your  mind  on  that  and  you  will  be  all  right." 

As  I  rode  along  I  could  not  forget  that  it  would 
be  necessary  for  me  to  pass  the  inn.  I  had  made 
inquiries,  but  there  were  no  byways  which  would 
serve  my  purpose.  There  was  nothing  for  me 
to  do  but  keep  on,  and  on  I  kept.  I  should  pass 
so  noiselessly  and  so  swiftly  that  I  did  not  be 
lieve  any  one  would  notice  me,  unless  indeed, 
it  should  be  the  boy.  I  earnestly  hoped  that 
I  should  not  see  the  boy. 
219 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

Whether  or  not  I  was  seen  from  the  inn  as  I 
passed  it  I  do  not  know.  In  fact,  I  did  not  know 
when  I  passed  it.  No  shout  of  immature  diabo 
lism  caught  my  ear,  no  scent  of  lemon  came  into 
my  nostrils,  and  I  saw  nothing  but  the  line  of 
road  directly  in  front  of  me. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
REPENTANCE  AVAILS   NOT 

JHEN  I  was  positively  certain  that 
I  had  left  the  little  inn  far  be- 
hind  me,  I  slackened  my  speed, 
and,  perceiving  a  spreading  tree 
by  the  road-side,  I  dismounted 
and  sat  down  in  the  shade.  It  was  a  hot  day, 
and  unconscious  y  I  had  been  working  very 
hard.  Several  persons  on  wheels  passed  along 
the  road,  and  every  time  I  saw  one  approaching 
I  was  afraid  that  it  might  be  somebody  I  knew, 
who  might  stop  and  sit  by  me  in  the  shade. 
I  was  now  near  enough  to  Walford  to  meet 
with  people  from  that  neighborhood,  and  I  did 
not  want  to  meet  with  any  one  just  now.  I  had 
a  great  many  things  to  think  about  and  just 
then  I  was  busy  trying  to  make  up  my  mind 
whether  or  not  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  stop  at 
the  Putney s'. 

If  I  should  pass  without  stopping,  some  one 
221 


A  Bicycle  of  Cathay 

in  the  lodge  would  probably  see  me,  and  the  fam 
ily  would  know  of  my  discourtesy,  but,  although 
it  would  have  been  a  very  simple  thing  to  do, 
and  a  very  proper  thing,  I  did  not  feel  sure  that 
I  wanted  to  stop.  If  Edith  Larramie  had  never 
said  anything  about  it,  I  think  I  would  surely 
have  made  a  morning  call  upon  the  Putneys. 

After  I  had  cooled  off  a  little  I  rose  to  remount  ; 
I  had  not  decided  anything,  but  it  was  of  no 
use  to  sit  there  any  longer.  Glancing  along  the 
road  towards  Waif ord,  I  saw  in  the  distance  some 
one  approaching  on  a  wheel.  Involuntarily  I 
stood  still  and  watched  the  on-coming  cyclist, 
who  I  saw  was  a  woman.  She  moved  steadily 
and  rapidly  on  the  other  side  of  the  road.  Very 
soon  I  recognized  her.  It  was  Miss  Putney. 

As  she  came  nearer  and  nearer  I  was  greatly 
impressed  with  her  appearance.  Her  costume 
was  as  suitable  and  becoming  for  the  occasion 
as  if  it  had  been  an  evening  dress  for  a  ball,  and 
she  wheeled  better  than  any  woman  cyclist  I 
ever  saw.  Her  head  was  erect,  her  eyes  straight 
before  her,  and  her  motion  was  rhythm  of  action. 

With  my  hand  on  my  wheel  I  moved  a  few 
steps  towards  the  middle  of  the  road.  I  was  about 
to  take  off  my  cap  when  she  turned  her  eyes  upon 
me.  She  even  moved  her  head  a  little  so  as  to 

222 


Repentance  Avails   Not 

gaze  upon  me  a  few  seconds  longer.  Her  face 
was  quiet  and  serene,  her  eyes  were  large,  clear, 
and  observant.  In  them  was  not  one  gleam  of 
recognition.  Turning  them  again  upon  the  road 
in  front  of  her,  she  sped  on  and  away. 

For  some  minutes  I  stood  looking  after  her, 
utterly  astonished.  I  do  not  think  in  all  my 
life  I  had  ever  been  cut  like  that.  What  did  it 
mean  ?  Could  she  care  enough  about  me  to  re 
sent  my  stopping  at  the  Holly  Sprig  ?  Was  it 
possible  that  she  could  have  known  what  had 
been  likely  to  happen  there,  and  what  had  hap 
pened  there  ?  All  this  was  very  improbable, 
but  in  Cathay  people  seemed  to  know  a  great 
many  things.  Anyway,  she  had  solved  my 
problem  for  me.  I  need  give  no  further  thought 
to  a  stop  at  her  father's  mansion. 

I  mounted  and  rode  on,  but  not  rapidly.  I 
was  very  much  moved.  My  soul  grew  warm 
as  I  thought  of  the  steady  gaze  of  the  eyes  which 
that  girl  had  fixed  upon  me.  For  a  mile  or  so 
I  moved  steadily  and  quietly  in  a  mood  of  in 
censed  dignity.  I  pressed  the  pedals  with  a 
hard  and  cruel  tread.  I  did  not  understand. 
I  could  scarcely  believe. 

Soon,  however,  I  began  to  move  a  little  faster. 
Somehow  or  other  I  became  conscious  that  there 
223 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

was  a  bicycle  at  some  distance  behind  me.  I 
pushed  on  a  little  faster.  I  did  not  wish  to  be 
overtaken  by  anybody.  Now  I  was  sure  there 
was  a  wheel  behind  me.  I  could  not  hear  it, 
but  I  knew  it  was  there. 

Presently  I  became  certain  that  my  instincts 
had  not  deceived  me,  for  I  heard  the  quick 
sound  of  a  bicycle  bell.  This  was  odd,  for  sure 
ly  no  one  would  ring  for  me  to  get  out  of  the 
way.  Then  there  was  another  tinkle,  a  little 
nearer. 

Now  I  sped  faster  and  faster.  I  heard  the 
bell  violently  ringing.  Then  I  thought,  but  I 
am  not  sure,  that  I  heard  a  voice.  I  struck  out 
with  the  thrust  of  a  steam-engine,  and  the  earth 
slipped  backward  beneath  me  like  the  water  of 
a  mill-race.  I  passed  wagons  as  if  they  had 
been  puffs  of  smoke,  and  people  on  wheels  as 
though  they  were  flying  cinders. 

In  some  ten  minutes  I  slackened  speed  and 
looked  back.  For  a  long  distance  behind  me 
not  a  bicycle  was  in  sight.  I  now  pursued  my 
homeward  way  with  a  warm  body  and  a  lacerated 
heart.  I  hated  this  region  which  I  had  called 
Cathay.  Its  inhabitants  were  not  barbarians, 
but  I  was  suffering  from  their  barbarities.  I 
had  come  among  them  clean,  whole,  with  an  up- 
224 


Repentance    Avails   Not 

right  bearing.  I  was  going  away  torn,  bloody, 
and  downcast. 

If  the  last  words  of  the  lady  of  the  Holly  Sprig 
meant  the  sweet  thing  I  thought  they  meant, 
then  did  they  make  the  words  which  preceded 
them  all  the  more  bitter.  The  more  friendly  and 
honest  the  counsels  of  Edith  Larramie  had  grown, 
the  deeper  they  had  cut  into  my  heart.  Even 
the  more  than  regard  with  which  my  soul  prompt 
ed  me  to  look  back  to  Amy  Willoughby  was  a 
pain  to  me.  My  judgment  would  enrage  me  if 
it  should  try  to  compel  me  to  feel  as  I  did  not 
want  to  feel. 

But  none  of  these  wounds  would  have  so  pained 
and  disturbed  me  had  it  not  been  for  the  merciless 
gaze  which  that  dark-eyed  girl  had  fixed  upon 
me  as  she  passed  me  standing  in  the  road.  And 
if  she  had  gone  too  far  and  had  done  more  than 
her  own  nature  could  endure,  and  if  it  were  she 
who  had  been  pursuing  me,  then  the  wound  was 
more  cruel  and  the  smart  deeper.  If  she  believed 
me  a  man  who  would  stop  at  the  ringing  of  her 
bell,  then  was  I  ashamed  of  myself  for  having 
given  her  that  impression. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
BEAUTY,  PURITY,  AND  PEACE 

NOW  proposed  to  wheel  my  way 
in  one  long  stretch  to  Walford. 
I  took  no  interest  in  rest  or  in  re 
freshment.  Simply  to  feel  that 
I  had  done  with  this  cycle  of 
Cathay  would  be  to  me  rest,  refreshment,  and, 
perhaps,  the  beginning  of  peace. 

The  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens,  and  its  rays 
were  hot,  but  still  I  kept  steadily  on  until  I  saw  a 
female  figure  by  the  road-side  waving  a  handker 
chief.  I  had  not  yet  reached  her,  but  she  had 
stopped,  was  looking  at  me,  and  was  waving  en 
ergetically.  I  could  not  be  mistaken.  I  turned 
and  wheeled  up  in  front  of  her.  It  was  Mrs.  Bur 
ton,  the  mother  of  the  young  lady  who  had  in 
jured  her  ankle  on  the  day  when  I  set  out  for  my 
journey  through  Cathay. 

*  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,"  she  said,  as  she 
shook  hands  with  me.     "  I  knew  you  as  soon  as 
226 


Beauty,   Purity,   and   Peace 

my  eyes  first  fell  upon  you.  You  know  I  have 
often  seen  you  on  the  road  before  we  became  ac 
quainted  with  you.  We  have  frequently  talked 
about  you  since  you  were  here,  and  we  did  not 
expect  you  would  be  coming  back  so  soon.  Mr. 
Burton  has  been  hoping  that  he  would  have  a 
chance  to  know  you  better.  He  is  very  fond  of 
school-masters.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Godfrey  Chester,  who  had  the  school  at  Walford 
some  years  before  you  came — when  the  boys  and 
girls  used  to  go  to  school  together — and  of  the 
man  who  came  afterwards.  He  was  a  little  too 
elderly,  perhaps,  but  Mr.  Burton  liked  him  too, 
and  now  he  hopes  that  he  is  going  to  know  you. 
But  excuse  me  for  keeping  you  standing  so  long 
in  the  road.  You  must  come  in.  We  shall  have 
dinner  in  ten  minutes.  I  was  just  coming  home 
from  a  neighbor's  when  I  caught  sight  of  you." 

I  declined  with  earnestness.  Mr.  Burton  might 
be  a  very  agreeable  man,  but  I  wanted  to  make 
no  new  acquaintances  then.  I  must  keep  on  to 
Walford. 

But  the  good  lady  would  listen  to  no  refusals 
of  her  hospitality.  I  was  just  in  time.  I  must 
need  a  mid-day  rest  and  something  to  eat.  She 
was  very  sorry  that  Mr.  Burton  was  not  at  home. 
He  nearly  always  was  at  home,  but  to-day  he 
227 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

had  gone  to  Waterton.  But  if  I  would  be  con 
tented  to  take  dinner  with  her  daughter  and  her 
self,  they  would  be  delighted  to  have  me  do  so. 
She  made  a  motion  to  open  the  gate  for  me,  but  I 
opened  it  for  her,  and  we  both  went  in.  The 
daughter  met  us  at  the  top  of  the  garden  walk. 
She  came  towards  me  as  a  cool  summer  breeze 
comes  upon  a  hot  and  dusty  world.  There  was 
no  flush  upon  her  face,  but  her  eyes  and  lips  told 
me  that  she  was  glad  to  see  me  before  she  spoke 
a  word  or  placed  her  soft,  white  hand  in  mine. 
At  the  first  touch  of  that  hand  I  felt  glad  that 
Mrs.  Burton  had  stopped  me  in  the  road.  Here 
was  peace. 

That  dinner  was  the  most  soothing  meal  of 
which  I  had  ever  partaken.  I  did  the  carving, 
my  companions  did  the  questioning,  and  nearly 
all  the  conversation  was  about  myself.  Ordi 
narily  I  would  not  have  liked  this,  but  every  word 
which  was  said  by  these  two  fair  ladies — for  the 
sweetness  of  the  mother  was  merely  more  sea 
soned  than  that  of  the  daughter — was  so  filled 
with  friendly  interest  that  it  gratified  me  to  make 
my  answers. 

They  seemed  to  have  heard  a  great  deal  about 
me   during   my   wanderings    through   Cathay. 
They  knew,  of  course,  that  I  had  stopped  with 
228 


Beauty,   Purity,   and  Peace 

the  Putneys,  for  I  had  told  them  that,  but  they 
had  also  heard  that  I  had  spent  a  night  at  the 
Holly  Sprig,  and  had  afterwards  stayed  with  the 
Larramies.  But  of  anything  which  had  hap 
pened  which  in  the  slightest  degree  had  jarred 
upon  my  feelings  they  did  not  appear  to  have 
heard  the  slightest  mention. 

I  might  have  supposed  that  only  good  and 
happy  news  thought  it  worth  while  to  stop  at 
that  abode  of  peace.  As  I  looked  upon  the  se 
rene  and  tender  countenance  of  Mrs.  Burton  I 
wondered  how  a  cloud  rising  from  want  of  sym 
pathy  with  early  peas  ever  could  have  settled 
over  this  little  family  circle ;  but  it  was  the  man 
who  had  caused  the  cloud.  I  knew  it.  It  is  so 
often  the  man. 

When  we  had  finished  dinner  and  had  gone 
out  to  sit  in  the  cool  shadows  of  the  piazza,  I  let 
my  gaze  rest  as  often  as  I  might  upon  the  fair 
face  of  that  young  girl.  Several  times  her  eyes 
met  mine,  but  their  lids  never  drooped,  their  ten 
der  light  did  not  brighten.  I  felt  that  she  was 
so  truly  glad  to  see  me  that  her  pleasure  in  the 
meeting  was  not  affected  one  way  or  the  other  by 
the  slight  incident  of  my  looking  at  her. 

If  ever  a  countenance  told  of  innocence,  purity, 
and  truth,  her  countenance  told  of  them.  I  be- 
229 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

lieve  that  if  she  had  thought  it  pleased  me  to 
look  at  her,  it  would  have  pleased  her  to  know 
that  it  gave  me  pleasure. 

As  I  talked  with  her  and  looked  at  her,  and  as 
I  looked  at  her  mother  and  talked  with  her,  it 
was  impressed  upon  me  that  if  there  is  one  thing 
in  this  world  which  is  better  than  all  else,  it  is 
peace,  that  peace  which  comprises  so  many  forms 
of  happiness  and  deep  content.  That  the  thoughts 
which  came  to  me  could  come  to  a  heart  so  lac 
erated,  so  torn,  so  full  of  pain  as  mine  had  been 
that  morning,  seemed  wonderful,  and  yet  they 
came. 

Once  or  twice  I  tried  to  banish  these  thoughts. 
It  seemed  disrespectful  to  myself  to  entertain 
them  so  soon  after  other  thoughts  which  I  now 
wished  to  banish  utterly.  I  am  not  a  hero  of  ro 
mance.  I  am  only  a  plain  human  being,  and 
such  is  the  constitution  of  my  nature  that  the 
more  troubled  and  disturbed  is  my  soul,  the  more 
welcome  is  purity,  truth,  and  peace. 

But,  after  all,  my  feelings  were  not  quite  nat 
ural,  and  the  change  in  them  was  too  sudden. 
It  was  the  consequence  of  too  violent  a  reaction, 
but,  such  as  it  was,  it  was  complete.  I  would  not 
be  hasty.  I  would  not  be  deficient  in  self-respect. 
But  if  at  that  moment  I  had  known  that  this  was 
230 


Beauty,   Purity,   and  Peace 

the  time  to  declare  what  I  wished  to  have,  I  would 
unhesitatingly  have  asked  for  beauty,  purity, 
and  peace. 

A  maid  came  out  upon  the  piazza  who  want 
ed  something.  Mrs.  Burton  half  rose,  but  her 
daughter  forestalled  her.  *  I  will  go,"  said  she. 
"Excuse  me  one  minute." 

If  my  face  expressed  the  sentiment,  "Oh,  that 
the  mother  had  gone!"  I  did  not  intend  that  it 
should  do  so.  Mrs.  Burton  then  began  to  talk 
about  her  daughter. 

"  She  is  like  her  father,"  she  said,  "  in  so  many 
ways.  For  one  thing,  she  is  very  fond  of  school 
masters.  I  do  not  know  exactly  why  this  should 
be,  but  her  teachers  always  seem  to  be  her  friends. 
In  fact,  she  is  to  marry  a  school-master — that  is, 
an  assistant  professor  at  Yale.  He  is  in  Europe 
now,  but  we  expect  him  back  early  in  the  fall." 

A  short  time  after  this,  when  the  daughter  had 
returned  and  I  rose  to  go,  the  young  girl  put  her 
soft,  white  hand  into  mine  exactly  as  she  had 
done  when  I  arrived,  and  the  light  in  her  eyes 
showed  me,  just  as  it  had  showed  me  before,  the 
pleasure  she  had  taken  in  my  visit.  But  the 
mother's  farewell  was  different  from  her  greeting. 
I  could  see  in  her  kind  air  a  certain  considerate 
sympathy  which  was  not  there  before.  She  had 
231 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

been  very  prompt  to  tell  me  of  her  daughter's 
engagement. 

That  young  angel  of  peace  and  truth  would 
not  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  say  a  word  about 
the  matter,  even  to  a  young  man  who  was  a 
school-master,  and  between  whom  and  her  fam 
ily  a  mutual  interest  was  rapidly  growing.  But 
with  the  mother  it  was  otherwise.  She  had  seen 
the  shadows  pass  away  from  my  countenance  as 
I  sat  and  talked  upon  that  cool  piazza,  my  eyes 
bent  upon  her  daughter.  Mothers  know. 


CHAPTER  XX 

BACK  FROM   CATHAY 

[HE  next  morning,  being  again 
settled  in  my  rooms  in  Walford, 
I  went  to  call  upon  the  Doctor 
and  his  daughter.  The  Doc 
tor  was  not  at  home,  but  his 
daughter  was  glad  to  see  me. 

"  And  how  do  you  like  your  cycle  of  Cathay  ?" 
she  asked. 

"  I  do  not  like  it  at  all,"  I  answered.  "  It  has 
taken  me  upon  a  dreary  round.  I  am  going  to 
change  it  for  another  as  soon  as  I  have  an  oppor 
tunity." 

"  Then  it  has  not  been  a  wheel  of  fortune  to 
you  ?"  she  remarked.  "  And  as  for  that  country 
which  you  figuratively  called  Cathay,  did  you 
find  that  pleasant  1" 

"  In  some  ways,  yes,  but  in  others  not.     You 
see,  I  came  back  before  my  vacation  was  over, 
and  I  do  not  care  to  go  there  any  more." 
233 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

She  now  wanted  me  to  tell  her  where  I  had 
really  been  and  what  had  happened  to  me,  and 
I  gave  her  a  sketch  of  my  adventures.  Of  course 
I  could  not  enter  deeply  into  particulars,  for  that 
would  make  too  long  a  story,  but  I  told  her  where 
I  had  stopped,  and  my  accounts  of  the  bear  and 
the  horse  were  deeply  interesting. 

*  It  seems  to  me,"  she  said,  when  I  had  fin 
ished,  "  that  if  things  had  been  a  little  different, 
you  might  have  had  an  extremely  pleasant  tour. 
For  instance,  if  Mr.  Godfrey  Chester  had  been 
living,  I  think  you  would  have  liked  him  very 
much,  and  it  is  probable  that  you  would  have 
been  glad  to  stay  at  his  inn  for  several  days.  It 
is  a  beautiful  country  thereabout." 

"  Did  you  know  him  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Oh  yes,"  she  said  ;  "  he  was  my  teacher  dur 
ing  part  of  my  school-days  here.  And  then  there 
is  Mr.  Burton ;  father  is  very  fond  of  him.  He 
is  a  man  of  great  intelligence.  It  was  unfort 
unate  that  you  did  not  see  more  of  him." 

"  Perhaps  you  know  Mr.  Putney  ?"  I  said. 

"  No,"  she  answered.  *  I  have  heard  a  great 
deal  about  him.  He  seems  to  be  a  stiff  sort  of  a 
man.  But  as  to  Mr.  Larramie,  everybody  likes 
him.  He  is  a  great  favorite  throughout  the 
county,  and  his  son  Walter  is  a  rising  young 
234 


Back    from    Cathay 

man.  I  am  glad  you  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  Lar ramies." 

"  So  am  I,"  I  said,  *  very  glad  indeed.  And, 
by-the-way,  do  you  know  a  young  man  named 
Willoughby  ?  I  never  heard  his  first  name,  but 
he  lives  at  Waterton." 

"  Oh,  the  Willoughby s  of  Waterton,"  she  said. 
"  I  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  them.  Father 
used  to  know  the  old  gentleman.  He  was  a 
great  collector  of  rare  books,  but  he  is  dead  now. 
If  you  had  met  him  you  would  have  found  him  a 
man  of  your  own  tastes." 

When  I  was  going  away  she  stopped  me  for  a 
moment.  "  I  forgot  to  ask  you,"  she  said  ; 
"did  you  take  any  of  those  capsules  I  gave 
you  when  you  were  starting  off  on  your 
cycle  ?" 

*  Yes,"  said  I,  *  I  took  some  of  them."    But  I 
could  not  well  explain  the  capricious  way  in 
which  I  had  endeavored  to  guard  against  the 
germs  of  malaria,  and  to  call  my  own  attention 
to  the  threatening  germs  of  erratic  fancy. 

"  Then  you  do  not  think  they  did  you  any 
good  ?"  she  said. 

*  I  am  not  sure,"  I  replied.     *  I  cannot  say  any 
thing  about  that.     But  of  one  thing  I  am  cer 
tain,  and  that  is,  that  if  any  germs  of  any  kind 

235 


A  Bicycle   of  Cathay 

entered  my  system,  it  is  perfectly  free  from  them 
now." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that,"  she  said. 

It  was  about  a  week  after  this  that  I  received 
a  letter  from  Percy  Larramie.  "I  thought  you 
would  like  to  know  about  the  bear/'  he  wrote. 
"  Somebody  must  have  forgotten  to  feed  him, 
and  he  broke  his  chain  and  got  away.  He  went 
straight  over  to  the  Holly  Sprig  Inn,  and  I  expect 
he  did  that  because  the  inn  was  the  last  place 
he  had  seen  his  master.  I  did  not  know  bears 
cared  so  much  for  masters.  He  didn't  stay  long 
at  the  inn,  but  he  stayed  long  enough  to  bite  a 
boy.  Then  he  went  into  the  woods. 

"  As  soon  as  we  heard  of  it  we  all  set  off  on  a 
bear-hunt.  It  was  jolly  fun,  although  I  did  not 
so  much  as  catch  a  sight  of  him.  Father  shot 
him  at  a  three-hundred-foot  range.  It  was  a 
Winchester  rifle  with  a  thirty-two  cartridge.  It 
was  a  beautiful  shot,  Walter  said,  and  I  wish  I 
had  made  it. 

"  We  took  his  skin  off  and  tore  it  only  in  two 
or  three  places,  which  can  be  mended.  Would 
you  like  to  have  the  skin,  and  do  you  care  par 
ticularly  about  the  head  ?  If  you  don't,  I  would 
like  to  have  it,  because  without  it  the  skeleton 
will  not  be  perfect." 

236 


Back  from   Cathay 

I  wrote  to  Percy  that  I  did  not  desire  so  much 
as  a  single  hair  of  the  beast.  I  did  not  tell  him 
so,  but  I  despised  the  bears  of  Cathay. 

It  was  just  before  the  Christmas  holidays 
when  I  finally  made  up  my  mind  that  of  all  the 
women  in  the  world  the  Doctor's  daughter  was 
the  one  for  me,  and  when  I  told  her  so  she  did 
not  try  to  conceal  that  this  was  also  her  own 
opinion.  I  had  seen  the  most  charming  quali 
ties  in  other  women,  and  my  somewhat  rapid 
and  enthusiastic  study  of  them  had  so  familiar 
ized  me  with  them  that  I  was  enabled  readily 
to  perceive  their  existence  in  others.  I  found 
them  all  in  the  Doctor's  daughter. 

Her  father  was  very  well  pleased  when  he 
heard  of  our  compact.  It  was  plain  that  he  had 
been  waiting  to  hear  of  it.  When  he  furthermore 
heard  that  I  had  decided  to  abandon  all  thought 
of  the  law,  and  to  study  medicine  instead,  his 
satisfaction  was  complete.  He  arranged  ev 
erything  with  affectionate  prudence.  I  should 
read  with  him,  beginning  immediately,  even  be 
fore  I  gave  up  my  school.  I  should  attend  the 
necessary  medical  courses,  and  we  need  be  in  no 
hurry  to  marry.  We  were  both  young,  and  when 
I  was  ready  to  become  his  assistant  it  would  be 
time  enough  for  him  to  give  me  his  daughter. 
237 


A   Bicycle  of  Cathay 

We  were  sitting  together  in  the  Doctor's  li 
brary  and  had  been  looking  over  some  of  the 
papers  of  the  Waif ord  Literary  Society,  of  which 
we  were  both  officers,  when  I  said,  looking  at 
her  signature :  "  By-the-way,  I  wish  you  would 
tell  me  one  thing.  What  does  the  initial  '  E/ 
stand  for  in  your  name  ?  I  never  knew  any  one 
to  use  it." 

*  No,"  she  said  ;  "  I  do  not  like  it.  It  was 
given  to  me  by  my  mother's  sister,  who  was  a 
romantic  young  lady.  It  is  Europa.  And  I 
only  hope,"  she  added,  quickly,  "  that  you  may 

have  fifty  years  of  it." 

********* 

Three  years  of  the  fifty  have  now  passed,  and 
each  one  of  the  young  women  I  met  in  Cathay 
has  married.  The  first  one  to  go  off  was  Edith 
Larramie.  She  married  the  college  friend  of 
her  brother  who  was  at  the  house  when  I  visited 
them.  When  I  met  her  in  Walford  shortly  after 
I  heard  of  her  engagement,  she  took  me  aside 
in  her  old  way  and  told  me  she  wanted  me  always 
to  look  upon  her  as  my  friend,  no  matter  how 
circumstances  might  change  with  her  or  me. 

"  You  do  not  know  how  much  of  a  friend  I  was 
to  you,"  she  said,  "  and  it  is  not  at  all  necessary 
you  should  know.  But  I  will  say  that  when  I 

238 


EUROPA 


Back  from  Cathay 

saw  you  getting  into  such  a  dreadful  snarl  in  our 
part  of  the  country,  I  determined,  if  there  were 
no  other  way  to  save  you,  I  would  marry  you 
myself  !  But  I  did  not  do  it,  and  you  ought  to 
be  very  glad  of  it,  for  you  would  have  found  that 
a  little  of  me,  now  and  then,  would  be  a  great 
deal  more  to  your  taste  than  to  have  me  always." 

Mrs.  Chester  married  the  man  who  had  courted 
her  before  she  fell  in  love  with  her  school-master. 
It  appeared  that  the  fact  of  her  having  been  the 
landlady  of  the  Holly  Sprig  made  no  difference 
in  his  case.  He  was  too  rich  to  have  any  pros 
pects  which  might  be  interfered  with. 

Amy  Willoughby  married  Walter  Larramie. 
That  was  a  thing  which  might  well  have  been 
expected.  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  it,  for  I  shall 
never  fail  to  be  interested  in  the  Larramies. 

About  a  year  ago  there  was  a  grand  wedding 
at  the  Putney  city  mansion.  The  daughter  of 
the  family  was  married  to  an  Italian  gentleman 
with  a  title.  I  read  of  the  affair  in  the  news 
papers,  and  having  heard,  in  addition,  a  great 
many  details  of  the  match  from  the  gossips  of 
Walford,  I  supposed  myself  to  be  fully  informed 
in  regard  to  this  grand  alliance,  and  was  there 
fore  very  much  surprised  to  receive,  personally, 
an  announcement  of  the  marriage  upon  a  very 
239 


A   Bicycle   of  Cathay 

large  and  stiff  card,  on  which  were  given,  in  full, 
the  various  titles  and  dignities  of  the  noble  bride 
groom.  I  did  not  believe  Mr.  Putney  had  sent 
me  this  card,  nor  that  his  wife  had  done  so  ;  cer 
tainly  the  Count  did  not  send  it.  But  no  matter 
how  it  came  to  me,  I  was  very  sure  I  owed  it  to 
the  determination,  on  the  part  of  some  one,  that 
by  no  mischance  should  I  fail  to  know  exactly 
what  had  happened.  I  heard  recently  that  the 
noble  lady  and  her  husband  expect  to  spend  the 
summer  at  her  father's  country-house,  and  some 
people  believe  that  they  intend  to  make  it  their 
permanent  home. 

The  Doctor  strongly  advises  that  Europa  and 
I  should  go  before  long  and  settle  in  the  Cathay 
region.  He  thinks  that  it  will  be  a  most  excel 
lent  field  for  me  to  begin  my  labors  in,  and  he 
knows  many  families  there  who  would  doubtless 
give  me  their  practice. 


THE  END 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


RENEWED  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  IMMEDIATE 
RECALL 


LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-70?n-9,'65(F7151s4)458 


N°  447295 

PS2927 

Stockton,  F.R.  B.3 

A  bicycle  of  Cathay. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


